Watch Highlights - Boxing Day 4th Test Match Australia vs England, Ashes 2017

                                                    Eng v Aus highlights today


Fourth test day one from Melbourne Cricket Ground (Australia) Tuesday 26th December 2017. There was a distinct hint of Christmas about Australia’s batting on the first day at the MCG this year: one large gift, a hectic morning, a post-lunch doze, and a second wind as the evening approached. On a day when David Warner scored his second consecutive century in Melbourne Tests, Australia went to stumps in a satisfactory position at 3 for 244, with Steven Smith on 65 and Shaun Marsh on 31. And yet, despite the scoreline, it was a day on which England’s toil deserved respect. Whatever presents Smith opened on Christmas Day were nothing compared to the gift of winning the toss – something he had not done in a Test since March – on a hot day at the MCG, where the pitch was so flat it looked like one curated for the BBL, not the Ashes. And during the first session, there was nothing in the pitch for England’s bowlers but despair as Warner raced towards 83 at lunch, with Australia at 0 for 102.

Watch Video Highlights here

Toss: Australia , elected to bat first.
Australia team/playing XI
CT Bancroft, DA Warner, UT Khawaja, SPD Smith (c), SE Marsh, TD Paine †, MR Marsh, PJ Cummins, JR Hazlewood, NM Lyon, JM Bird.

England team/playing XI
AN Cook, MD Stoneman, JM Vince, JE Root (c), DJ Malan, JM Bairstow †, MM Ali, CR Woakes, TK Curran, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson.

But, as if made drowsy by tryptophan, the Australians slowed dramatically after the break. Only 43 runs were added between lunch and tea for the losses of Warner and Cameron Bancroft. If this pitch was a road, England’s bowlers had suddenly turned into sleeping policemen. And yet England still faced the challenge of dismissing Smith, which nobody has done in a Boxing Day Test since Umesh Yadav in 2014, and thus Australia accumulated a further 99 in the final session. The most memorable moment of the day for the 88,000 spectators came when Warner was on 99 and tried his risky short-arm pull against the debutant seamer Tom Curran. As the ball ballooned off the top edge and straight to Stuart Broad at mid-on, Warner’s expression was one of disbelief at throwing away his 21st Test century. The disbelief quickly spread throughout the stadium as replays showed Curran had overstepped, and Warner was reprieved by a retrospective no-ball call.

England tour of Australia and New Zealand 4th Test Highlights

Umpires – Kumar Dharmasena, Sundaram Ravi
TV Umpires – Joel Wilson
Match Referee – Ranjan Madugalle
Reserve Umpire – Sam Nogajski
Match number – Test no. 2289

Curran was denied his maiden Test wicket – and by stumps still had not claimed it – and next ball Warner brought up his century from his 130th delivery with a single clipped off his hips. Curran joined Ben Stokes and Mark Wood as England players in recent years to have missed out on their first Test wicket due to a no-ball, but he bowled well throughout the day in unhelpful conditions. So, for the most part, did all of England’s bowlers, with the exception of Moeen Ali, who leaked nearly a-run-a-ball from his six overs. That Joe Root used the part-time leg-spin of Dawid Malan more on the opening day of this Test than he did Moeen’s off-breaks was revealing, and not encouraging for Moeen’s hopes of retaining his place in the side. James Anderson took his 519th Test wicket, drawing level with Courtney Walsh when Warner edged behind for 103 to a delivery that moved away just enough, and Stuart Broad ended a 69-over wicketless streak when he lured Usman Khawaja into an edge behind on 17 from 65 balls. Chris Woakes had struck the first blow when he trapped Bancroft lbw on 26, ending a difficult stay for the opener.

The opening partnership was worth 122 but Warner accounted for nearly 100 of this himself, and Bancroft never really looked comfortable. In the opening session, he was often seen fending short deliveries awkwardly, as if having trouble picking up the length or pace. It was a stark contrast to the free-scoring from Warner, who struck 13 fours and one six – lofted over long-on off Moeen. Likewise, Khawaja had difficulty in getting going, but by stumps, the Australians had a strong 84-run partnership from Smith and Marsh that looked like setting up a good total. Along the way, Smith moved past Cheteshwar Pujara to become the leading run scorer in Test cricket in 2017, although South Africa’s Dean Elgar has a Test in hand against Zimbabwe in which he could yet make a push for the top of the table. Of course, England would also have to find a way to get Smith out, and there was no evidence that in that regard Melbourne would be any different from Brisbane or Perth. If winning the toss on this pitch was the perfect post-Christmas present for Australia’s captain, another hundred would be even better.

Renegades Cool the Fire of Brisbane Heat | Melbourne Renegades vs Brisbane Heat | Match 6, Melbourne | Big Bash League | December 23, 2017

In an awesome show of prowess and power, Melbourne Renegades have snatched victory out of the jaws of a lukewarm Brisbane Heat, in the 6th match of the 2017 KFC Big Bash League, at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.

Renegades Take Control Early

From the very beginning, Melbourne Renegades had the fortune of having won the toss, and chose to send Brisbane in first to bat. Melbourne then wasted no time in commanding the course of the match, as they claimed their first wicket in just the 2nd ball of the 1st over.

Brendon McCullum had just managed to amass 5 runs before a failed attempt at a sweep caused the ball to find its way underneath his bat and into the middle stump, for a brilliant early dismissal by Tom Cooper.

The wickets would then start to pour in, two-by-two for the Renegades, as Sam Heazlett fell two overs later, only to be followed by Jimmy "JJ" Peirson after another two overs had passed.

Player of the match, Jack Wildermuth, was the bowler responsible for both dismissals, setting up a catch for Aaron Finch at extra cover in the first, and bowling Peirson with the second, sending the Renegades fans into a frenzy.

Alex Ross Lands Top Score for the Heat

Just when Brisbane looked as though they had lost their Heat entirely, Australian middle order batsman, Alex Ross, stepped up to the plate in heroic style.

He held the fort steadily with Marcus Labuschagne to yield a partnership that endured for 39 runs. Despite the dismissal of Labuschagne, Ross batted on alongside Ben Cutting, to produce one run short of his previous partnership, at 38.

Having survived the dismissal of yet another partner in the person of Josh Lalor, it was not until the 19th over that Ross finally surrendered having brought the Heat to 127 runs. With Dwayne Bravo on a hat trick, Ross failed to anticipate a full delivery on off stump, causing the ball to veer straight into his stumps.

Renegades Face Early Threat

The Heat was brought at the turn of the innings, as Shad Khan laid claim to his two wickets of the match, within the space of the 1st four overs.

He spun Aaron Finch so out of control nearing the end of the 2nd over that he could only manage to get an edge to it before it landed in the hands of JJ Peirson, the wicketkeeper. He would then end up with a strike of luck in the 4th over, bowling Marcus Harris with a less-than-impressive short ball that caused the batsman to hesitate and throw the bat at it, giving up the 2nd wicket for the Heat.

White & Cooper Set Things Straight

Despite early "Christmas-Eve-jitters", Cameron White and Tom Cooper were sure to rein in the sleigh of emotion that overcame their openers, and bring the gifts home just in time for peace and goodwill to still be in order.

The pair would have completed the task of clearing away the chase target on their own, had it not been for the easy catch by Mark Steketee at long-off in the 16th over, marking an end to a joint stand of 85 runs.

Brad Hodge made a cameo appearance to add 9 runs and help Cooper finish the job—a feat they pulled off with almost 2 overs left.

Brisbane Heat face Sydney Thunder on December 27, while the Renegades are set to contend with Perth Scorchers on the 29th.

Watch Highlights 3rd t20 - Mission 'whitewash' accomplished by Team India

India were expected to whitewash Sri Lanka by winning the third T20I and they exactly did that. However, it wasn't an easy victory for them as they were stretched to the limit by the Sri Lankan bowlers during a modest chase of 136. As India had already won the series, they gave a chance to Washington Sundar and Mohammed Siraj to showcase their skills. While the former bowled exceedingly well, the same couldn't be said about Siraj, who was expensive in his second T20 outing as well.

Debutant Washington Sundar opened the bowling for India and the off-spinner picked up the important wicket of Kusal Perera in his second over. This was after Jaydev Unadkat had removed Niroshan Dickwella in the previous over. The wickets kept tumbling for Sri Lanka and next to go was Upul Tharanga, who was caught at deep mid-wicket on the bowling of Unadkat. The left-arm seamer has been impressive throughout the series and today was no different.

The pair of Asela Gunaratne and Sadeera Samarawickrama looked good for a while as they stitched a 38-run partnership. Sri Lanka needed them to bat for a bit longer, but that didn’t happen as Samarawickrama was dismissed by Hardik Pandya for 21.

Except for Gunaratne, all the other batsmen struggled to score the runs and whenever they tried to play the big shots, they only managed to hit it straight to the fielders. Both Gunathilaka and Thisara Perera fell in a similar manner and at the end of 13 overs, they were reeling at 85 for 6.

The last recognized batting pair of Gunaratne and Shanaka had a big responsibility on their shoulders to guide their team to a respectable total. They batted for 4.3 overs, but managed to score only 26 runs, before Gunaratne (36) was sent back to the pavilion by Hardik Pandya. It was a nice running catch taken by Kuldeep Yadav at mid-wicket, which helped Pandya to pick up his second wicket.

At the end of 19 overs, Sri Lanka’s score read 117 for 7 and it appeared as if they will get somewhere around 125 at the end of their 20 overs. However, a big last over from Mohammed Siraj ensured that the visitors finish with a bang. The medium-pacer conceded 18 runs in the last over – 45 in his four – which helped the Sri Lankans to reach 135.

Now, the target of 136 was not big at all, considering the excellent batting conditions at Wankhede. In fact, 135 was the lowest total by a team batting first at this venue. To defend it, the Sri Lankan bowlers needed to be at the top of their game. They started off brilliantly and created a couple of opportunities to get the Indian openers out. Dushmanth Chameera was finally rewarded for his nagging line and lengths as he caught KL Rahul plumb in front for 4. Even a review couldn’t save the batsman as ball-tracking showed the ball clipping the leg-stump.

The dismissal of Rahul didn’t slow down Rohit Sharma, who continued to be aggressive and played a couple of superb shots on the bowling of Nuwan Pradeep. However, he too couldn’t last long and was out in the very next over.

The wicket of the Indian captain helped Sri Lanka to tighten the screws as the young pair of Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey found it difficult to get going. In six overs since Rohit’s dismissal, there was not a single boundary hit by either of the two batsmen. However, the positive thing from India’s point of view that they were able to keep the scoreboard ticking by taking the ones and twos.

In order to get a breakthrough, Thisara Perera brought Akila Dananjaya back into the attack. Well, the off-spinner didn’t pick up a wicket, but he did manage to provide his team with a breakthrough by getting Iyer run-out. Hardik Pandya, who was sent up the order, couldn’t do much damage and was dismissed by Dasun Shanaka in the next over for just 4.

With the last 5 overs remaining, India needed 37 runs to win the match. Manish Pandey held the key for them. He had found his timing back and was now scoring at more than a run-a-ball. But at the start of the 17th over, he too was dismissed by Chameera. Now, there were two new batsmen out there in the centre and Sri Lanka were in with a realistic chance of pulling off an upset.

Chameera could have even got MSD out twice in the very same over, but both the times the batsman was lucky. First, the edge went past the flying Dickwella and on the second occasion, hawkeye showed that the ball would go over the stumps. It was just the kind of luck Dhoni and India needed at that stage.

India now required only 20 runs from three overs. But Sri Lanka were not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Perera bowled a really good over, as he gave away just 5 runs and Pradeep followed it up with five good balls in the next. But his last ball was a rank-high full toss, which Dinesh Karthik smashed for a six to change the equation of the match. Only three were required from the last over and it took MSD just two balls, as he finished off the match in style with a boundary.

Watch Highlights:- Boult Leads Black Caps to Dramatic 2-0 Win

The West Indies are again caught scratching their heads, as they experienced defeat of defeats in the 2nd ODI against New Zealand, who dominated with a win by 204 runs. A crucial dropped catch by the Windies, brilliant and steady run-making by New Zealand and a barage of wickets taken by Trent Boult, all contributed to a fantastic Black Caps series win of 2-0.

Worker & Munro Partner to Half Century

The pair of George Worker and Colin Munro have proved to be a most reliable opening partnership for the Black Caps, and this was no less evident at the start of the 2nd ODI. The West Indies suffered an early drop of what should have been a straightforward catch; this foreshadowed the despair that would beset them for their decision to put Shai Hope in as wicketkeeper, rather than the usual Shane Dowrich.

However, they would get their relief in the 6th over, when the Worker-Munro partnership, which had stood for half century, was finally dismantled. Sheldon Cottrell pitched a delivery short outside off with just enough pull to force Munro's effort straight into the hands of Jason Mohammed at mid on.

Windies Resurge in the Middle

If their start was anything to go by, one would have written of the West Indies entirely and handed the match to the Black Caps, as a steady opening partnership, buffered by a half century from Ross Taylor, fuelled what seemed to be a runaway victory train.

But the Windies started to kick up some dust of their own, as middle-order batsman, Neil Broom, could only produce 6 runs before Cottrell struck again in the 10th over, delivering a good length on off stump, which Broom edged to Holder who flew at it with safe hands for a strong show of effort.

Worker was then dismissed by Ronsford Beaton in the 18th over, courtesy of a short ball that gave Rovman Powell a perfectly timed catch a little way inside the boundary.

A 130-Run Partnership Worth Writing Home For

It seemed as though catches both made and broke the West Indies when it came down to it, as the wicket of the dangerous Todd Astle escaped them in the 46th over. Astle punished the West Indies for it as he made the most of the new lease on life that he had been handed, with unstoppable boundaries, all while maximizing singles and twos to add to his team's climbing tally.

By the time Astle was finally bowled, he had already done the damage he came to do, stopping just one short of his maiden half century, and serving as a steady anchor to a partnership with Henry Nicholls that ascended all the way to 130 runs.

Trent Boult Seals the Attack With a 7-For

If the batsmen of New Zealand had not already done enough to claim Black-Caps-victory, Trent Boult was here to ensure that his team dominated with both bat and ball.

Boult used surgical precision to tear apart the Windies defense, shaving off a timid top order by the 6th over. His efforts included the stumping of Kyle Hope with the last ball of the very first over, angled by a good length on off stump to penetrate the gap between bat and pad to obliterate the top of off stump.

As Evin Lewis prepared to take on the task of restoring order to the defense, he wasn't given half a chance, as he lifted a ball bowled almost exactly down fine leg, too high to carry itself beyond the grasp of Doug Bracewell.

Shimron Hetmeyer just couldn't figure out the correct approach for a ball outside his comfort zone, outside off, and paid dearly with a stretching effort that floated to Worker at first slip.

Shai Hope would round up a back-to-back slew of four wickets taken via the bowling of Boult, and would be joined by Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell and Shannon Gabriel, in the "Boult bounty" that lit up the grounds at Christchurch.

The next match, which serves as consolation for the West Indies, is scheduled for Christmas Day.

Watch Highlights:-Tye, Turner star in Scorchers win

Sydney Sixers lost their second consecutive match as they were outplayed by Perth Scorchers at their own home ground in S.C.G. The Scorchers, after electing to bowl first, restricted the Sixers to a modest total of 132 and then comfortably chased down the target to win the match by 6 wickets. Andrew Tye and Ashton Turner were the two standout performers for the Scorchers. While Tye picked up his second BBL hat-trick (third overall), Turner smashed a 27-ball fifty to guide the Scorchers to victory.

PART-1

Jhye Richardson provided the Scorchers with a terrific start by getting rid of both the openers for just 28 runs on the board. Despite losing the wickets, the Sixers batsmen continued to play their shots and scored at around 8 RPO. But the next three overs changed the complexion of the game as they lost a wicket each in every over and were reduced to 46 for 5 at the end of 7 overs.

PART-2

After that, it was Nic Maddinson and Peter Nevill, who tried to rebuild the innings, but they couldn’t add more than 37 runs to the total as both of them were dismissed by Mitchell Johnson in his last over.

Six overs were still remaining in the Sixers’ innings, but they were left with only 3 wickets in hand. They needed a cameo from somebody to help them reach at least 120-130 and the same was provided by Sean Abbot and Steve O’Keefe, who added 48 runs for the 8th wicket. Courtesy of their partnership, the Sixers managed to score 131 in 18 overs and now had a chance to post 150 on the board.

However, the penultimate over from Andrew Tye spoilt all their hopes as he picked up a hat-trick – his second in BBL history – and wrapped up the Sixers innings for 132.

After the terrific job by their bowlers, the onus was now on the Scorchers’ batsmen to chase down the total and start off the season with a win. Their openers were off to a quiet, but steady start as they scored 27 runs in the first four overs. However, both, Josh Philippe and William Bosisto, were dismissed in the very next over with Sean Abbot picking up the wickets.

The Sydney Sixers’ bowlers kept things tight as there was only one boundary conceded in the next 6 overs. It was also smart captaincy from Moises Henriques as he kept rotating his bowlers, which didn’t allow the Perth batsmen to line them up and play the big shots.

Hilton Cartwright tried to up the ante as he hammered a six and a four on the bowling of Doug Bollinger, but unfortunately for the Scorchers, he was out in the very same over. With the wickets falling around, the batting side was only able to score 78 runs in 14 overs.

The game was nicely poised at this stage, as the Scorchers needed another 55 runs to win off the last 6 overs, while the Sixers needed 6 more wickets. Adam Voges and Ashton Turner were out there in the middle and a lot depended on this pair to take their team through.

Turner, who had scored only 4 runs off his first 10 balls, decided to change the gears as he went after Daniel Sams in the 15th over. 16 runs came off the left-arm seamer’s over and it changed the equation drastically in Perth’s favour. Turner also gave a thrashing to Sean Abbot – Sixers best bowler – as he smashed him for a couple of huge sixes. It was a game-changing knock from the all-rounder, which helped his team to get over the finishing line with 11 balls to spare.

Watch Highlights -Adelaide Strikers dominate with stunning bowling display to tear apart the Sydney Thunder

AUSTRALIA has been introduced to the breakout star of the BBL, with Afghani import Rashid Khan lighting up Adelaide Oval on Friday night with a brilliant display.
Australia has a fascination with crafty leggies, and at the moment there’s no better prospect on the planet than the wily 19-year-old with the unpickable wrong’un.

Want to know how tough it is to pick? Maybe ask Ben Rohrer, the 36-year-old Sydney Thunder veteran who had more than a touch of the Mike Gattings about his reaction when he was truly bamboozled to be bowled for a duck.

Bowling around the wicket to the left-hander, Rashid pitched a delivery on leg stump, watched as it fizzed off the pitch, beat Rohrer’s bat and took the top of off-stump.

It was a delightful piece of genius and earned him his second wicket for the over, and was the moment that sparked a shocking Thunder collapse - ultimately leading to a huge 53-run victory as the visitors were meekly rolled for 110 in pursuit of the Strikers’ target of 164.

Khan takes two on debutKhan takes two on debut1:13
The youngster then took off in celebration, raising his arms as fans have been accustomed to seeing in the Caribbean and Indian Premier Leagues — where he’s dominated this year.

Rashid’s performance, finishing with 2-22 from four overs, earned him man-of-the-match honours — but they equally could’ve gone to two of his bowling teammates, Ben Laughlin (4-26) and Peter Siddle (2-6 from three overs).

While Rashid opened the floodgates, sparking a stunning collapse of 8-41, it was Laughlin who broke the back of the Thunder with an over in which he was on a hat-trick and took three wickets in four balls for one run.


Laughlin tears apart ThunderLaughlin tears apart Thunder1:33
Arjun Nair dug out the hat-trick ball, and finished unbeaten on 23 in one of the hardy displays from a meek Thunder batting line-up — with opener Kurtis Patterson the clear star, scoring 48 from 27.

And don’t sell short the performance of former Test star Siddle, who moved to the Strikers this year from the Melbourne Renegades.

On Friday’s showing, it looks like an astute purchase by the Strikers and coach Jason Gillespie, and Siddle has plenty of life left in his legs.

The 33-year-old has spent far more time than he’d care to remember on the sidelines in recent years, but looked fit and motivated as he zeroed in on the Thunder’s batting line-up.

Two wickets in three overs is good — but an economy rate of 2 is mind-blowing in T20 cricket.

Earlier, Alex Carey (44) and Travis Head (36) put on 79 runs to steer the home side to its total of 163 — which didn’t look like a par score, until the Thunder capitulated under the Adelaide lights.

Fan hit in the head by sixFan hit in the head by six0:39
BIG MOMENTS

— There were scary scenes when a young fan was struck by a huge Travis Head six in the Strikers’ innings. It was reminiscent of the incident at North Sydney Oval when Ellyse Perry hit a powerful six which struck a young fan in the face. Fortunately the young fan — six-year-old Charlie — was ok after the incident and play was not interrupted for too long.

— Alex Carey batted superbly in a timely reminder that he is not a one-trick pony. The silky gloveman was on the cusp of a Test call-up at the start of the summer with selectors enamoured with his work behind the stumps. But there were concerns around his batting, and ultimately Tim Paine was handed the job — and has since performed brilliantly with both bat and ball. But Paine is reportedly not in camp with the Australian team ahead of the Boxing Day Test as he deals with some family problems — which could open the door for Carey. It’s unlikely — Paine is believed to be more likely than not to play Boxing Day — but it’s still a good time for Carey to be among the runs.

Kiwi gets heated at WellsKiwi gets heated at Wells1:04
— Mitchell McClenaghan is an angry, angry man. The feisty Kiwi is fast becoming a cult favourite at the Sixers, and he’s a very handy cricketer. But you don’t want to get on his bad side — like Jono Wells managed to during the Strikers’ innings. Wells happened to get in the way when the Kiwi was charging towards a caught-and-bowled off Jake Lehmann, which he ultimately grassed despite making good ground after getting around Wells. But that was when the fireworks started. McClenaghan unleashed a furious spray at the batsman — and most of the words can’t be printed on a kid-friendly site like foxsports.com.au. But he was certainly unimpressed. And we wouldn’t want to cross the quick, who also came up with the worst ball of the match with this horrendous wide. Sorry Mitch, don’t come after me.

India seal the series with a massive win - Watch Highlights

If one wishes to see high-quality strokeplay throughout the match in a T20 game, then he/she has to watch the 2nd T20I between India and Sri Lanka again and again. It was that kind of a surface where the batsmen simply enjoyed wagging their bat around and the poor bowlers had to bear the assault. In such a high-voltage contest, India, riding on the back of a 119 from Rohit Sharma and 89 from KL Rahul, went on to pile the joint second-highest T20I total (260). Sri Lanka gave a good fight, but a collapse ensured that they fell well short of the target as they lost the match by 88 runs.

To begin with, it was the Indian opening pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, who got their team off to a flying start as they added 165 runs in just 12.4 overs. The Sri Lankan bowlers actually started well, giving away just 26 runs in the first 4 overs, but after that, they were smashed all around the park for the next 16 overs.

Some of the shots that the Indian openers played were simply unbelievable – the one from KL Rahul over long-off and then a couple from Rohit Sharma over the extra-cover region – and it was a treat to watch them bat. Both of them timed the ball so well that their shots went all the way for sixes. Yes, the ground was small, but then they smacked them into the second and third tier.

Rohit, especially, was unstoppable. Right from the word go, he just went after the Sri Lankan bowlers and targeted a boundary or a six off almost every other ball. He reached his fifty in 23 balls and if that was not quick, he converted it into a hundred in the next 12 balls. In doing so, Rohit equalled David Miller’s record of scoring the fastest T20I century. He also became the first Indian to score two T20I centuries. His knock of 119 comprised of 12 fours and 10 sixes – geez, that’s 108 runs in boundaries.

After the Indian skipper got out, Rahul, who was silent for a while, took over and continued the assault. MS Dhoni gave him good company and the two took India’s score past 200 by adding 78 runs for the second wicket. Rahul also had a chance to rack up his second T20I hundred, but he fell just 11 runs short of it. It was a fantastic one-handed diving catch taken by Niroshan Dickwella to get rid of the batsman.

Once Rahul was dismissed, India lost a few wickets in a jiffy and missed out on an opportunity to post the biggest total in a T20I. But they still ended up getting 260 runs on the board, which anyhow was a colossal total.

It was a daunting target ahead of the Sri Lankans and they needed their batsmen to click to get somewhere close to India’s total. One must say that they gave India a tough fight and till 13 overs, were very much in the game. Leading from the front was Kusal Perera, who kept whacking the Indian spinners out of the park. It was just the kind of innings that Sri Lanka needed to keep the required run-rate under check.

While Kusal did the bulk of the damage, Upul Tharanga played a good supporting role and scored a 29-ball 47. The two left-handers stitched a fine partnership of 109 runs and kept the hopes alive of plausibly chasing down the target. But they needed to keep going as they still needed another 119 runs to win off the last 7 overs.

Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, once the partnership was broken, their batting unit yet again collapsed. And once again, it was the Indian spin-duo, who triggered the collapse. First, it was Kuldeep Yadav, who picked up three wickets, including that of the dangerous Kusal Perera (77), in his last over. This was followed by another 3-wicket over from Yuzvendra Chahal, who finished with a 4-for. It was an excellent comeback by the Indian spinners after being hammered in their first three overs. As a result of this, the Sri Lankan team, who were 145 for 1 at one stage, were bowled out for 172.

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India seal the series with a massive win | India vs Sri Lanka | 2nd T20I | Dec 22 - 20170001

Sydney Thunder clinch a thriller in BBL opener

1st Match: Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers at Sydney Showground Stadium, Sydney, Dec 19 - 2017, Cricket highlights

The Big Bash League 2017-18 was off to a thrilling start as Sydney Thunder managed to pull off a last-ball win against their rivals Sydney Sixers. Shane Watson and Arjun Nair were the star performers for the Thunder. While Watson scored a match-winning 77 off just 46 balls, Nair picked up two wickets and also smashed 10 runs in the last over to get his team over the line. The 5-wicket win was Sydney Thunder's only 4th win in the 12 meetings between these two teams.

After Shane Watson decided to bowl first, it looked like a judgemental error by the Thunder’s skipper as the Sixers were off to a blazing start, courtesy of Nic Maddinson and Daniel Hughes. The pair gave a pasting to the Thunder bowlers and even Watson was not spared, as they scored 55 runs in the powerplay for the loss of only Jason Roy’s wicket.

But the introduction of spinners – Fawad Ahmed and Arjun Nair – did the trick for the Sydney Thunder. The spin-duo was not only able to slow down the run-rate, but also picked up 4 wickets between them, which swung the match in the favour of Thunder. From 55 for 1, the Sixers had slid down to 80 for 5 at the end of 12 overs.

The innings was then revived by Sam Billings and Peter Neville, who stitched a fine partnership of 37 runs for the sixth wicket. The majority of the runs came off the blade of Billings, who made brilliant use of the reverse-sweeps. In the 17th over, Andrew Fekete was able to break the partnership by getting rid of Neville, but he also went for 12 runs in that over as the new batsman, in Steve O’Keefe, hammered a couple of boundaries.

With the last two overs left and with Billings still out in the middle, the Sixers had a good chance of posting 155-160 runs on the board. However, Billings got run out at the start of the penultimate over; as a result of which, they managed to score only 10 runs and ended up scoring 149 in their 20 overs.

Defending a smallish total, the Sixers were provided with a terrific start by Daniel Sams, who got rid of the dangerous Jos Buttler in the very first over. The left-arm seamer could have also got Kurtis Patterson out in his very next over, but both the times the inside edge went past the leg-stump to run away for a boundary.

With luck on his side, Patterson along with captain Watson stitched a valuable partnership of 75 runs to get the run-chase back on track. While Patterson mostly dealt in singles, it was Watto, who played the big shots and scored the bulk of runs.

The Sixers badly needed a breakthrough to get back into the contest and the same was provided by Sams, who was finally able to get rid of Patterson on the third attempt. In the very next over, Johan Botha picked up the wicket of Ben Roher and gave the Thunder a double blow.

At this stage, the game hung in balance as the Thunder needed 62 more runs to win off the last 6 overs. Watson was the key for his team and he batted absolutely brilliantly to get his team close to the target. The last four overs provided all the thrills as the match swung from one end to another.

First, it was the over from Sean Abbot, where Watson thrashed him for a couple of fours and a huge six to accumulate 16 runs off it. That over had brought the equation in Thunder’s favour as they needed only 26 to get off the last 3 overs. But in the very next over, the momentum shifted as Sams picked up two wickets, including that of Watson, to keep the Sixers still in the contest. He also conceded just 3 runs and finished with startling figures of 4 for 14.

Doug Bollinger followed it up with another tight over as he gave away only 8. Now, the equation was a bit tricky for the Thunder as they needed 15 to get off the final over. Abbot – who had conceded 16 in his previous over – was entrusted with the responsibility of defending the total. But he failed in doing so as Arjun Nair and Aiden Blizzard scripted a memorable win for their team by scoring the winning runs off the last ball.

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Sydney Thunder clinch a thriller in BBL opener | Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers | Match 1 - BBL0001

Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars - Full Match Highlights - KFC Big Bash League - 20th December, 2017

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  • Powerplay 1: Overs 0.1 - 6.0 (Mandatory - 57 runs, 2 wickets)
  • Brisbane Heat: 50 runs in 4.5 overs (30 balls), Extras 2
  • Brisbane Heat: 100 runs in 10.3 overs (66 balls), Extras 5
  • 4th Wicket: 50 runs in 28 balls (JA Burns 37, AI Ross 13, Ex 2)
  • JA Burns: 50 off 27 balls (4 x 4, 3 x 6)
  • Brisbane Heat: 150 runs in 15.1 overs (94 balls), Extras 7
  • AI Ross: 50 off 34 balls (1 x 4, 2 x 6)
  • 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 26 balls (AI Ross 18, BCJ Cutting 28, Ex 4)
  • Brisbane Heat: 200 runs in 19.4 overs (122 balls), Extras 9
  • Innings Break: Brisbane Heat - 206/7 in 20.0 overs (Shadab Khan 0, JK Lalor 6)

  
  
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• Melbourne Stars innings
  • Powerplay 1: Overs 0.1 - 6.0 (Mandatory - 51 runs, 3 wickets)
  • Melbourne Stars: 50 runs in 5.5 overs (35 balls), Extras 3
  • Melbourne Stars: 100 runs in 12.2 overs (74 balls), Extras 5
  • MP Stoinis: 50 off 26 balls (4 x 4, 3 x 6)
  • 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 33 balls (MP Stoinis 37, JP Faulkner 11, Ex 2)
  • Melbourne Stars: 150 runs in 16.1 overs (98 balls), Extras 8
  • 5th Wicket: 100 runs in 59 balls (MP Stoinis 62, JP Faulkner 33, Ex 5)

Australia vs England 3rd Test Day 5 Highlights – Dec 18, 2017

England v Australia highlights today 

 Third test day five from W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth (Australia) Monday 18th December 2017. If this is Australia’s last taste of international cricket at the WACA, it is a sweet one. Steven Smith’s men regained the Ashes on the final day of the third Test against England, despite a controversial three-hour delay to the start of play caused by rain seeping into the pitch through the covers. If that was an inauspicious beginning for the WACA’s last day as an Ashes venue – and possibly as an international ground full-stop – the Australians cared little by the end of the day, with the urn back in their grasp.

England won the toss and chose to bat.
Australia team/playing XI
DA Warner, CT Bancroft, UT Khawaja, SPD Smith (c), SE Marsh, MR Marsh, TD Paine †, MA Starc, PJ Cummins, NM Lyon, JR Hazlewood.

England team/playing XI
AN Cook, MD Stoneman, JM Vince, JE Root (c), DJ Malan, JM Bairstow †, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, C Overton, JM Anderson.

England tour of Australia and New Zealand 3rd Test Highlights

Umpires – Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney
TV Umpires – Aleem Dar
Match Referee – Sir Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Paul Wilson
Match number – Test no. 2288

England needed to bat close to 70 overs to have any chance of clinging on to the Ashes. They managed to hold on for less than half of that. It was hardly surprising, for the cracks on the pitch made batting really challenging; one delivery from Josh Hazlewood actually flew from a leg-stump line straight to first slip. So, not only were England struggling to find answers, it wasn’t always clear what questions would be asked of them.

Dawid Malan fought hard for 54 to add to his first-innings 140, but an Australian victory seemed only a matter of time. And if England leave the WACA with questions of their own regarding the state of the pitch on which they had to bat, it will not undo the result: an Australian win by an innings and 41 runs, and an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. Hazlewood completed his first Ashes five-wicket haul, exploiting the conditions effectively, and England were dismissed for 218 before tea. All England can do now is prevent the kind of 5-0 clean sweep they suffered in 2013-14, and in 2006-07. On the basis of current form, it won’t be any easy task.

Regardless of what happened on the final day, this match was won by the monstrous triple-century partnership between Smith and Mitchell Marsh on the third day. They propelled Australia to 9 for 662, their highest total in a Test innings since Cardiff in 2009, but there was to be no repeat of Cardiff’s last-gasp draw for England. The final wicket fell when Chris Woakes tried to ramp Pat Cummins over the keeper’s head but succeeded only in feathering a catch through to Tim Paine. The Australian huddle was instantaneous, and jubilant.

There were times during the morning when they must have wondered if this moment would come. Heavy overnight rain in Perth had found its way through the covers and onto the pitch, leading to the farcical sight of the captains and umpires standing around in fine conditions as they watched the groundstaff use leaf blowers to dry the wet patches on the pitch. It had the potential to be a black swansong for the WACA – perhaps fittingly, for a ground in Western Australia – but play finally got under way at 1pm.

Hazlewood’s first delivery and the sixth of the day kept a fraction low and took Jonny Bairstow’s off stump. Later in the same over, the Australians thought they had Moeen Ali when he edged to second slip, where Smith scooped the ball up low to the ground. A soft not-out signal from the on-field umpires was enough to save Moeen, with the third umpire Aleem Dar unable to conclusively determine whether Smith had got his fingers under the ball.

Moeen and Malan settled in for a partnership that lasted 15.4 overs, but Moeen’s struggles against his fellow offspinner Nathan Lyon continued when he prodded tamely forward and was trapped lbw by a straight ball for 11. Malan was the key for England, the last recognised batsman, and he battled manfully before gloving an attempted pull through to Paine off the bowling of Hazlewood. From there, it was only a matter of time. Less than 10 overs, as it turned out.

Craig Overton, who had bravely played with a cracked rib during this match, was caught low at gully by Usman Khawaja off Hazlewood, who finished with 5 for 48, and Stuart Broad’s miserable series continued when he too gloved behind off Cummins. Woakes and James Anderson did their best to get through the extended session to the delayed tea break, but failed narrowly, handing the Ashes back to Australia.

For Smith’s men, this was the culmination of a three-Test sequence in which they have dominated England for the most part, and they can now head to Melbourne and Sydney with the aim of stamping their mark on Ashes history with another clean sweep. Whatever happens, they will never forget the WACA’s Ashes farewell.

India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI Highlights – Dec 17, 2017

Ind v SL highlights today – Third one day international from Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam (India) Sunday 17th December 2017.

Toss: India

India team/playing XI

RG Sharma (c), S Dhawan, SS Iyer, MS Dhoni †, HH Pandya, KD Karthik, MK Pandey, B Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, JJ Bumrah, YS Chahal.

Sri Lanka team/playing XI

MD Gunathilaka, WU Tharanga, S Samarawickrama, AD Mathews, N Dickwella †, DAS Gunaratne, NLTC Perera (c), SS Pathirana, RAS Lakmal, A Dananjaya, ANPR Fernando.

Highlights

Highlights will be available after end of the play.

Match Timings: 13.30 start, First Session 13.30-17.00, Interval 17.00-17.45, Second Session 17.45-21.15

Sri Lanka tour of India 3rd ODI (D/N) Highlights

Umpires – Simon Fry, Nitin Menon

TV Umpires – Paul Reiffel

Match Referee – Jeff Crowe

Reserve Umpire – Nandan

Match number – ODI no. 3942

Australia vs England 3rd Test Day 4 Highlights – Dec 17, 2017

Eng v Aus highlights today 

Third test day four from W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth (Australia) Sunday 17th December 2017.

England won the toss and chose to bat.
Australia team/playing XI
DA Warner, CT Bancroft, UT Khawaja, SPD Smith (c), SE Marsh, MR Marsh, TD Paine †, MA Starc, PJ Cummins, NM Lyon, JR Hazlewood.

England team/playing XI
AN Cook, MD Stoneman, JM Vince, JE Root (c), DJ Malan, JM Bairstow †, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, C Overton, JM Anderson.

Highlights
Highlights will be available shortly.
Match Timings: 10.30 start, Lunch 12.30-13.10, Tea 15.10-15.30, Close 17.30




England tour of Australia and New Zealand 3rd Test Highlights

Umpires – Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney
TV Umpires – Aleem Dar
Match Referee – Sir Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Paul Wilson
Match number – Test no. 2288

Australia vs England 3rd Test Day 3 Highlights – Dec 16, 2017

England won the toss and chose to bat

Australia team/playing XI
DA Warner, CT Bancroft, UT Khawaja, SPD Smith (c), SE Marsh, MR Marsh, TD Paine †, MA Starc, PJ Cummins, NM Lyon, JR Hazlewood.

England team/playing XI
AN Cook, MD Stoneman, JM Vince, JE Root (c), DJ Malan, JM Bairstow †, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, C Overton, JM Anderson.

Watch the Highlights here      

Australia vs England 3rd Test Day 2 Highlights – Dec 15, 2017

Eng v Aus highlights today

 Third test day two from W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth (Australia) Friday 15th December 2017. Once again England got another chance to gain a victory Aussies because they performed very well at first day 305 with four down. Now if England could reach near about or more then 500 runs in their first innings then they have a huge chance to win this third test. England’s highest total of the venue is 592/8d, which was scored in 1986 against the home team and Australia highest total is 735/6d vs Zimbabwe in 2003. DA Warner played nine innings on this pitch and scored 803 runs with highest 253.

England won the toss and chose to bat.
Australia team/playing XI
DA Warner, CT Bancroft, UT Khawaja, SPD Smith (c), SE Marsh, MR Marsh, TD Paine †, MA Starc, PJ Cummins, NM Lyon, JR Hazlewood.

England team/playing XI
AN Cook, MD Stoneman, JM Vince, JE Root (c), DJ Malan, JM Bairstow †, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, C Overton, JM Anderson.

Highlights
Highlights will be available shortly.
Match Timings: 10.30 start, Lunch 12.30-13.10, Tea 15.10-15.30, Close 17.30




England tour of Australia and New Zealand 3rd Test Highlights

Umpires – Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney
TV Umpires – Aleem Dar
Match Referee – Sir Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Paul Wilson
Match number – Test no. 2288

There was a wry smile on Joe Root’s face when he won the toss at the WACA and chose to bat. At Adelaide Oval, he had learnt the hard way that sending the opposition in and then losing is difficult for a captain to live down. So in Perth, it was back to conventional wisdom: bat first and put runs on the board. On a day when Dawid Malan scored his maiden Test century and Mark Stoneman posted his highest Test score, and England moved to 4 for 305 at stumps, Root must have breathed a sigh of relief. And by the close of play, another decision had also paid off for England: the move of Jonny Bairstow up from No. 7 to No. 6. Bairstow was the second leading scorer in Test cricket in 2016 but has found himself batting behind Moeen Ali in this series – until today. At stumps, he was on 75 and Malan had 110, and their unbeaten 174-run partnership was England’s best Ashes stand in Australia since the second Test of their memorable 2010-11 campaign.

Notably, England’s success on this day came without significant contributions from Root, who made a brisk 20 before he gloved one down leg off Pat Cummins, or Alastair Cook, who began his 150th Test in disappointing fashion by missing a straight one from Mitchell Starc and being adjudged lbw for 7 in the fifth over of the match. Little did England care, though, for all that mattered was that at 2-0 down they had given themselves some hope of fighting back in the series. Australia may yet rue a missed opportunity late in the day when Starc swung the first delivery with the second new ball and Malan, on 92, edged to third slip, where Cameron Bancroft spilled the chance. It was Australia’s second dropped catch in the cordon: Mitchell Marsh at first slip had grassed a straightforward chance off Josh Hazlewood’s bowling when Stoneman edged on 52. At least that cost Australia little, for Stoneman was soon out for 56.

But the key to the day was the Malan-Bairstow stand, which lasted throughout the final session and set England up for a potentially hefty first-innings total. Malan was strong when driving through cover and he was given plenty of opportunities to do so. Australian fast bowlers have often spoken of the importance of not getting carried away with the pace and bounce at the WACA, where visiting fast men regularly bowl too short. Here Australia were punished when they bowled full. Malan struck 15 fours and one six – a top-edged hook off Starc – and brought up his century late in the afternoon with a boundary pulled off Hazlewood, from his 159th delivery. It was the 20th century of Malan’s first-class career and his second on this tour after he scored 109 against the Cricket Australia XI in Townsville, and it was the first by any England player in an Ashes Test in Australia since Ben Stokes at the WACA four years ago.

Bairstow too could go to bed dreaming of an Ashes hundred, having already managed the highest score of his 12-Test Ashes career. He was productive on the leg side when the Australians bowled too straight and by stumps had struck 10 boundaries. There were a few cracks on the WACA surface at the toss and a little bit of grass, but the Australians believed it would be a good batting pitch, hence their decision to include Mitchell Marsh for Peter Handscomb as a fifth bowling option. It was Marsh’s first Test since the tour of India earlier this year and while he did send down seven overs on the first day, it was Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins who looked the most likely to do any damage. Stoneman was impressive when sweeping Nathan Lyon, who found himself struggling for impact for the first time in the series, and the opener also picked off three fours from one Starc over early in the day. But Stoneman’s initially quick scoring rate slowed considerably after lunch when he was struck on the helmet by a fierce bouncer from Hazlewood. The next delivery was another short one that Stoneman fended towards Lyon at the point, though he couldn’t hold a tough chance, and soon Stoneman found himself bogged down.

Stoneman’s fifty came up from his 82nd delivery but soon fell to another accurate bouncer, this time from Starc. Stoneman was given not out on the field but Australia’s review was upheld by third umpire Aleem Dar, on the evidence of a Snicko spike as the ball passed Stoneman’s glove on the way through to Tim Paine. The hasty overturning of the decision caused a brief ruckus, but further replays showed it was the correct call. The review perhaps also overshadowed the fact that it was a brilliant take from Paine, who had to leap into the air and snared the catch with one hand thrust above his head. But it was the last breakthrough of the day for Australia, who had picked up Cook and James Vince, who flirted outside off and edged behind off Hazlewood for 25, in the first session, and then Root and Stoneman in the second. Malan and Bairstow ensured this was unequivocally England’s day.

Australia vs England 3rd Test Day 1 Highlights – Dec 14, 2017

                                                      Eng v Aus highlights today 

Third test day one from W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth (Australia) Thursday 14th December 2017. After a small victory of the toss, English team captain JE Root decided to bat first and England team scored 305 runs in 89 overs with four wickets down today. AN Cook poor form continues and he has gone with scoring just seven runs, when his wicket dismissed then it was 4.4 full and fast, 149kph and trapped in front! No review from Cook, he knows that was plumb… Starc finds his line and sends a searing attempted yorker into the pads, no big innings for Cook in his 150th Test (at least for now); too slow to get the bat down and his lean series continues 26/1.




England won the toss and chose to bat.
Australia team/playing XI
DA Warner, CT Bancroft, UT Khawaja, SPD Smith (c), SE Marsh, MR Marsh, TD Paine †, MA Starc, PJ Cummins, NM Lyon, JR Hazlewood.

England team/playing XI
AN Cook, MD Stoneman, JM Vince, JE Root (c), DJ Malan, JM Bairstow †, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, C Overton, JM Anderson.

MD Stoneman scored 56 runs off 110 deliveries and out, He smashed ten 4s in his innings, the dismissal of his wicket was like this, 37.5 ripping bouncer, Stoneman throws up the hands and is beaten… or is he? No, there was a flick of glove on it! Paine took a leaping catch and Australia quickly reviewed Erasmus’ not-out decision, with Aleem Dar determining that a ripple on Snicko was evidence of contact. Erasmus has to reverse the call and up goes the finger, Stoneman’s gutsy knock is over! That was a snorter, unlucky for the batsmen on several levels 131/4. JM Vince contributed 25 runs and JE Root (c) scored 20 runs.

Match Timings: 10.30 start, Lunch 12.30-13.10, Tea 15.10-15.30, Close 17.30

England tour of Australia and New Zealand 3rd Test Highlights

Umpires – Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney
TV Umpires – Aleem Dar
Match Referee – Sir Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Paul Wilson
Match number – Test no. 2288

After the fourth wicket down at 131 DJ Malan and JM Bairstow † comes to the crease and smashed all Australian bowlers till the last ball of the day. DJ Malan still not out at 110 and JM Bairstow † also not out at 75. DJ Malan smashed fifteen 4s and a maximum, JM Bairstow smashed ten boundaries so far. MA Starc took two wickets, JR Hazlewood took one and PJ Cummins also took one wicket.

Will it be the WACA pitch of old? Pace and bounce? These questions have preceded every Perth Test in recent years, and the answer varies from summer to summer. Some years there are hints of the old WACA, other years it is one of the country’s most docile surfaces. Western Australia coach Justin Langer says the past few Sheffield Shield games at the WACA have been played on flat pitches, but curator Matt Page is confident the surface will be quicker than last year. The forecast for Perth is hot, though with a chance of rain on days four and five.

England have named an unchanged XI but Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow have swapped places in the order. Australia will not name their XI until the morning of the match, but if the pitch looks remotely flat, it is expected that Mitchell Marsh will replace Peter Handscomb to provide a fifth bowling option.

India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI Highlights – Dec 13, 2017

            Toss: Sri Lanka won and elected to field first.

India team/playing XI
RG Sharma (c), S Dhawan, SS Iyer, MS Dhoni †, HH Pandya, KD Karthik, MK Pandey, B Kumar, Washington Sundar, JJ Bumrah, YS Chahal.

Sri Lanka team/playing XI
MD Gunathilaka, WU Tharanga, HDRL Thirimanne, AD Mathews, N Dickwella †, DAS Gunaratne, NLTC Perera (c), SS Pathirana, A Dananjaya, RAS Lakmal, ANPR Fernando.

Mohali seldom plays true to what is now an outdated reputation for pace and bounce, but it is still the north Indian winter, with maximum temperatures in the high teens or low twenties, and there has been some rain about in the lead-up to the match, so fast bowlers can expect a certain amount of help. Last year, the seamers took eight out of 13 wickets in an ODI against New Zealand in which an unbeaten 154 from Virat Kohli and an 80 from Dhoni helped India chase down 286.

Sri Lanka tour of India 2nd ODI (D/N) Highlights

Umpires – Nandan, Paul Reiffel
TV Umpires – Simon Fry
Match Referee – Jeff Crowe
Reserve Umpire – Nitin Menon
Match number – ODI no. 3941

Report
Rohit Sharma’s template in ODIs isn’t complicated: watchful in the first 10 overs, accumulation in the next 30 overs, and a belligerent assault in the last 10. Sri Lanka knew all about it, having conceded 264 to him in Kolkata three years ago, but he reminded them again in terrific batting conditions in Mohali. He razed his way to his third double-century in ODIs to launch India to 392 for 4, helping India level the series with a 141-run drubbing. Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer gave Rohit able company with rapid half-centuries, as India posted their 100th 300-plus total in ODIs. Angelo Mathews led Sri Lanka’s losing battle with a fighting hundred, his second in ODIs, but just like AB de Villiers’ 114 against India in Gwalior in 2010, it didn’t take much away from a stunning double-hundred.

Given Mohali’s large boundaries, Sri Lanka’s response to Rohit was to take pace off the ball and try bowling short. It didn’t work. Sri Lanka’s end-overs specialists Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep then tried firing in wide yorkers. It didn’t work. Straight yorkers? Nope. Low full-tosses resulted in sixes over midwicket and square leg. As the level of intimidation went up, Sri Lanka grew increasingly helpless. So frenetic was the pace of the final third of Rohit’s innings that he scored more than half of his unbeaten 208 in the last 10 overs. He had nudged his way to his 16th ODI century by the end of the 40th and then went on to thump 107 more off his final 37 balls. He scored 144, close to 70% of his runs, square on either side of the wicket. India scored 147 in the last 10 overs. Nuwan Pradeep came close to Mick Lewis’ record of most runs conceded in an ODI, but finished seven runs short, ending at 10-0-106-0.

Confidence is arguably the most influential factor in sport. Any team is bound to be tentative after slumping to 29 for 7 in their previous game. So when India were put in to bat in hazy conditions, Rohit and Dhawan put away their attacking instincts, allowing Sri Lanka’s in-form seamers to win the first Powerplay: they scored just 33 in the first 10 overs. Apart from their ability to steal singles with soft hands in the Powerplay, Rohit and Dhawan are also proficient because they prefer different lengths. Dhawan sits back and waits for bowlers to err on the short side, and Rohit favours the fuller length when they compensate. For 10 overs, Sri Lanka found the perfect length in-between. As fatigue crept in and new bowlers took time to settle, they erred too often. India’s run-rate rose from a little over three to above five in a few overs thereafter. Dhawan was particularly productive square on either side of the wicket, hitting nine fours before shovelling a flick to midwicket off Sachith Pathirana.

After cruising to fifty, Rohit chose only the errant deliveries to attack. But India’s run-rate remained lofty due to Iyer’s belligerence. After moving quietly to 11 off 15, he chipped down the track off Pathirana and hit him over mid-on despite not getting to the pitch of the ball. Sri Lanka changed their length, and Iyer pounced on width. Iyer led the charge after Rohit’s ton. He displayed the strong bottom-handed power that has almost become a requisite in modern ODI batting. He also showed off his touch, guiding and scything balls either side of the point. He eventually holed out for 88 off 70 balls, an innings that featured nine fours and two sixes, in the 46th over, but the damage had been done.

The chase fizzled out early, as Sri Lanka labored their way to 41 for 2 in the first 10 overs. Upul Tharanga slapped a catch to cover and Danushka Gunathilaka was strangled down the leg side. Lahiru Thirimanne’s horror form continued, managing just 21 runs off 34 balls before attempting a premeditated reverse-sweep off debutant Washington Sundar, who struck off his ninth ball in ODIs. Sri Lanka’s middle order, led by Mathews, batted with intent and aggression. Niroshan Dickwella and Asela Gunaratne contributed brisk cameos but were dismissed trying to keep up with an asking rate that soared past 10 runs per over with more than half the innings remaining. When he could, Mathews stepped out to hit over the infield. When he couldn’t, he used his wrists and bottom hand to wriggle out runs on the leg side. He hit 72 of his unbeaten 111 on the leg side, accounting for 65% of his runs.

Australia vs England 2nd Test Day 5 Highlights – Dec 6, 2017

England tour of Australia and New Zealand 2nd Test (D/N) Highlights

Umpires – Aleem Dar, Chris Gaffaney
TV Umpires – Marais Erasmus
Match Referee – Sir Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Sam Nogajski
Match number – Test no. 2285

Momentum is a curious, intangible beast, impossible to measure but easy to see. There are players who claim that it doesn’t exist, yet what else but momentum can explain the fact that England are even remotely back in this Test match? England, who were thrashed by 10 wickets in Brisbane. England, who here sent Australia in, saw them bat into six sessions and declare at 8 for 442. England, who batted so poorly that they gave Australia the chance to enforce the follow-on. And therein lies the crux of this momentum shift. Steven Smith did not make England bat again, preferring to give his bowlers a rest. In doing so, he made his own men bat under lights on the third evening, when England’s bowlers hooped the ball around and gained confidence. On the fourth day, Australia were knocked over for 138, and James Anderson claimed the first five-wicket haul he had ever managed in 15 Tests in Australia. The previously anosmic England had the trace of a sniff.

By stumps, England had doggedly worked their way to 4 for 176, with their captain Joe Root the key man, unbeaten on 67, alongside Chris Woakes on 5. The momentum had threatened to swing back to Australia late in the evening when Pat Cummins rattled the top of Dawid Malan’s off stump, and might have done so had Woakes not jammed down on a sizzling Cummins yorker from the penultimate ball of the day. In the end, England went to stumps needing a further 178 runs with six wickets in hand. Yet if Australia’s position was much the stronger, England might have felt that they won the day, for they ended it with more chance of victory than when they had started. In the final session, it was the Australians who looked nervy, Smith losing both of his side’s reviews in the space of three balls as he sought a fourth wicket.

Objectively, this made little sense. To win, England would need to rewrite history. Never before have England chased down a target as high as the 354 they were set here. For nearly 90 years, their record chase has been 332, achieved by a team that boasted Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe and Wally Hammond in their top four. To triumph at Adelaide Oval would not only break England’s record, it would be one of the top 10 chases in all of Test history. Australia’s mood was not helped by an incident in the fourth over when Josh Hazlewood rapped Alastair Cook on the pads from around the wicket. The lbw appeal was turned down by umpire Chris Gaffaney, presumably feeling the ball was sliding down leg. Neither Hazlewood nor wicketkeeper Tim Paine seemed desperate to convince Smith to review, and Australia left it alone. Ball-tracking would have given them the wicket, the ball smashing into leg stump.

Perhaps that played a role in Smith’s eagerness to review later, first when Pat Cummins thought he had Root caught behind and then when Hazlewood struck Malan on the flap of the pad in the next over. No Snicko, no Hot Spot, no “umpire’s call”, just lost reviews that would not be refreshed. At least in the meantime, Smith had made one good review, when Nathan Lyon straightened one to trap Cook lbw for 16. Cook and Mark Stoneman had given England just the solid start they required, but on 53 their partnership was broken by Cook’s departure, and Stoneman fell with only one more run added to the score. Having scored at a run a ball for his first 28, he had been stifled for some time when on 36 he tried to glide Mitchell Starc away to the off side and succeeded only in sending a catch to Usman Khawaja at gully.

James Vince did little for his Test reputation by driving breezily at Starc and edging to first slip for 15, which left England wobbling at 3 for 91. But Root and Malan worked hard through the tricky evening period for a 78-run stand. Root, in particular, was excellent, seeking not just to survive but to score – though he had a nervous moment when given out lbw playing no shot to Lyon, a decision that was overturned on review. If Smith’s hundred was the defining innings at the Gabba, Root could yet make the difference here. The day had started with Australia on 4 for 53, leading by 268 runs with six wickets in hand. It was a powerful position by any standards, yet England had gained confidence on the third evening and they did not let Australia slip away too much on the fourth day.

Anderson finished with 5 for 43 and a torn pair of trousers sustained while diving in vain for a return catch. He began by removing the nightwatchman Lyon, who chipped a catch to mid-off for 14, and followed by having Peter Handscomb caught at third slip for 12. Handscomb is the only Australian who might be considered in danger of losing his place anytime soon and did little in this innings to show his form as anything but scratchy. Paine made 11 before he was brilliantly caught by Craig Overton, running in from fine leg and diving to collect the top-edged hook off Woakes, who then grabbed his fourth wicket by bowling Shaun Marsh for 19. Starc made 20, the equal top score in the innings (along with Khawaja) before he skied a catch off Anderson to give the fast bowler his fifth wicket. The innings was wrapped up when Hazlewood sent a catch to gully off Overton, leaving Cummins not out on 11. It meant that Australia’s 138 was the highest total in Test history in which no batsman had scored more than 20. That was one record broken. Now England hopes that another will follow.

Australia vs England 2nd Test Day 1 Highlights – Dec 2, 2017

Eng v Aus The Ashes highlights today – Second test day one from Adelaide Oval (England) Saturday 2nd December 2017




England won the toss and elected to field.
Australia team/playing XI
CT Bancroft, DA Warner, UT Khawaja, SPD Smith (c), PSP Handscomb, SE Marsh, TD Paine †, MA Starc, PJ Cummins, JR Hazlewood, NM Lyon.

England team/playing XI
AN Cook, MD Stoneman, JM Vince, JE Root (c), DJ Malan, MM Ali, JM Bairstow †, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, C Overton, JM Anderson.

England tour of Australia and New Zealand 2nd Test (D/N) Highlights

A similar pitch to that which was used against South Africa last year was the intention for Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough, but extreme weather in the lead-up has added to the challenge. He is hopeful of a surface that will offer a good mix of pace, bounce and spin. There could be some rain around on the first day, but the forecast for the remainder of the Test is good, with temperatures in the low 20s. England have hedged their bets slightly with a 12-man squad, with Craig Overton entering the equation to challenge Jake Ball for a seam-bowling berth. There’s no room for the legspinner, Mason Crane, despite concerns over Moeen Ali’s spinning finger. Moeen will play, even if his bowling load is reduced, with Root also able to contribute some of his part-time off-spin. Australia have confirmed an unchanged XI, with Chadd Sayers missing out on a home Test debut.

Umpires – Aleem Dar, Chris Gaffaney
TV Umpires – Marais Erasmus
Match Referee – Sir Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Sam Nogajski
Match number – Test no. 2285

India vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test Day 1 Highlights – Dec 2, 2017

Ind v SL highlights today – Third test day one from Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi (India) Saturday 2nd December 2017.




India won the toss and elected to bat.
India team/playing XI
M Vijay, S Dhawan, CA Pujara, V Kohli (c), AM Rahane, RG Sharma, R Ashwin, WP Saha †, RA Jadeja, I Sharma, Mohammed Shami.

Sri Lanka team/playing XI
S Samarawickrama, FDM Karunaratne, ARS Silva, AD Mathews, LD Chandimal (c), N Dickwella †, DM de Silva, PADLR Sandakan, MDK Perera, RAS Lakmal, PLS Gamage.

Sri Lanka tour of India 3rd Test Highlights

The pitch looks green but Chandimal said it was closer to Nagpur than Kolkata. Nothing extraordinary about it. Weather is clear but light could fade early and be a factor. Batting failures in both innings on a more-or-less traditional subcontinent pitch in Nagpur suggests Sri Lanka need to consider adding Dhananjaya de Silva and perhaps even the uncapped Roshen Silva in their XI. India’s combination remains a mystery. Among the openers, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul were involved in slip-fielding practice and M Vijay came out for the press conference. And would they really drop Rohit Sharma soon after he had scored a cathartic Test century?

Umpires – Nigel Llong, Joel Wilson
TV Umpires – Richard Kettleborough
Match Referee – David Boon
Reserve Umpire – Nandan
Match number – Test no. 2286

India vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test Day 4 Highlights – Nov 27, 2017

Sri Lanka tour of India 2nd Test Highlights

Umpires – Richard Kettleborough, Joel Wilson
TV Umpires – Nigel Llong
Match Referee – David Boon
Reserve Umpire – Chettithody Shamshuddin
Match number – Test no. 2283

India 610 for 6 dec. (Kohli 213, Pujara 143, Vijay 128, Rohit 102*) beat Sri Lanka 205 (Chandimal 57, Karunaratne 51, Ashwin 4-67, Ishant 3-37, Jadeja 3-56) and 166 (Chandimal 61, Ashwin 4-63) by an innings and 239 runs. Virat Kohli will go to South Africa without having lost a Test series as a captain after India took an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series with their joint-biggest Test win and Sri Lanka’s biggest defeat. As Kohli crept closer to most Test wins for India, his No. 1 matchwinner so far, R Ashwin, became the fastest man to 300 Test wickets. It is not easy to keep turning up after you have wasted all the good fortune in one Test and then lost the second Test on the first day itself. Sri Lanka’s downward slide continued into the first session of the fourth day as they gift-wrapped two wickets to India, who now need two more to take an unassailable lead in the series. Beginning the day 384 behind and needing to bat about five sessions to save the Test, Sri Lanka were expected to go down, but the point of interest was whether they would make India – already resting players and playing on pitches that reduce home advantage in order to prepare for South Africa – work hard for their wickets. Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews answered in the negative.

Before that, though, Dimuth Karunaratne encountered some tough luck with a freak short leg catch from M Vijay sending him back in the seventh over of the day. Having survived 61 balls, Thirimanne then scooped a wide half-volley straight to point. Mathews soon lobbed Ravindra Jadeja straight to mid-off to end his 32-ball innings. With no hope left, Dasun Shanaka threw his bat at everything, connecting well enough for a four and two sixes, but not well enough when he skied one to end his eight-ball 17. Once given a whiff, R Ashwin was too good for Dilruwan Perera and Rangana Herath, whom he sent back for ducks in the space of three balls. Probably expecting more of the same capitulation, the first session was extended by 15 minutes to see if India could wrap the game up before lunch but Sri Lanka just about hung in to force a second session. Some of the capitulation was down to accurate and skilful bowling on a deteriorating surface, but India will be the first ones to say they have worked harder for wickets. The good bowling was evident in how Niroshan Dickwella was forced by Ishant Sharma to play at a length ball outside off in a spell that he extracted each-way reverse swing, playing with the scrambled minds of the batsmen.

Sri Lanka went into the break trailing by 260 runs. There was three-fold uncertainty at the start of the final session with two wickets standing. Would Ashwin get the one wicket he needed to reach 300? Would Sri Lanka score the 22 required to deny India their biggest Test win and the 32 required to avoid their biggest defeat? After having scored 61, and having put together 58 for the ninth wicket, Dinesh Chandimal picked out long leg perfectly when he flicked a leg-stump half-volley from Umesh Yadav. India’s lead now was 240. Only one run was added to the total when an Ashwin carrom ball kissed Lahiru Gamage’s off stump.

Day 4
Last July, Virat Kohli had no double-centuries. He now has five. Only Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are the Indians with more. Kohli waltzed to 213 off only 267 balls to set up a declaration and asked Sri Lanka to survive for nine overs before stumps on day three. But the fatigue of having spent 176.1 overs in the field showed in how Sadeera Samarawickrama flashed at a wide ball and left alone a straight one. At times, teams have to tackle those dreaded days of trying to delay the declaration, and how they go about it can tell a lot about where they are at as a unit. Sri Lanka, unfortunately, were all over the place: bowlers were not accurate, fielders not alert, and plans absent. There was a buffet out there, and all bar KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane tucked in.

Kohli took the record for the most centuries for an Indian captain. Rohit Sharma ended his 13-month wait for first-class cricket and a four-year wait for a Test century in the course of a mere 160 balls. The declaration came as soon as Rohit reached the mark, making it only the third time India have had four centurions in one Test innings. The start of the day was indicative of how the rest of it would go. Cheteshwar Pujara, 121 at the time, played out a watchful maiden – he took 23 balls to add to his overnight score – and Kohli started off with a single to long-on off his first ball. By the fourth over, it was clear Sri Lanka – understandably – were not there a 100% and that Kohli was, in his hyper-active T20 mode no less.

Kohli pushed one to long-on, Suranga Lakmal lobbed the throw to Rangana Herath, he was slow to come down, and Kohli stole a second with the ball wandering only as far as point. Fielders were under extreme pressure. Later, Herath had his pride hurt when Kohli pinched a single after hitting a firm drive straight to him at mid-off. Flustered, Herath threw anyway and conceded an overthrow. If Lakmal had reason to be upset, he didn’t help matters when he forgot to make an effort to collect a throw the last ball of that over. Towards the end of the session, Niroshan Dickwella was busy applauding the wide slip for getting a hand to a late cut when Kohli raced across for a single. Pujara continued to play the old-fashioned way. Despite the slow start, he didn’t look for a big shot to get going, clipping to leg for his first single of the morning. Kohli was more fluent as he kept driving either side of the wicket from wide outside off.

The seamers tried going round the wicket and Herath tried going over the wicket, but there was hardly a moment of concern for India. While Pujara and Kohli batted together on day three, the bat was beaten only five times, one of them a Dasun Shanaka yorker about seven minutes before lunch and Pujara fell seven short of 150, the ball squeezing under the bat which had covered the line and but hadn’t come down in time. It was a reminder that even when things seem easy for long periods, there are still ways to get out. A minor disappointment for India was that Rahane fell for just 2, to a loose ball from Dilruwan Perera, which was small consolation for the offspinner who has had an ordinary Test. There was nowhere to hide for him as he had to keep coming back for spell after spell, going for 202 in 45 overs despite an improved showing on Sunday.

Kohli and Rohit presented a milder version of their legendary one-day stands as they matched each other shot for shot in a 173-run stand for the fifth wicket. If Kohli welcomed Lakmal back by dancing down and hitting him over mid-off, Rohit dropped Dilruwan over mid-on. Kohli unleashed a six over long-on, bringing up his and Dilrwuan’s 150. So Rohit raised two lofted boundaries off Herath. Rohit’s 11-ball wait to go from 49 to 50 just before tea brought his strike-rate under 50, but Kohli, more used to these landmarks in Tests, saw no reason to slow down even as he approached his double-hundred in the final session.

Kohli fell for 213, but he gave Rohit all the time he needed to get to a hundred that might be important for his confidence going into the South Africa tour, where he might be asked to bat more often than he has at home. It is up for debate whether it is disrespectful to the opposition to wait for one man’s personal milestone, but it wasn’t as if India were going to run out of time or good weather to run Sri Lanka out a second time. It was apparent in Samarawickrama’s two-ball innings and Sri Lanka’s uncertain bid for survival in the remaining overs.