Cricket 365

After yet another eventful week in the cricketing world, which saw some groundbreaking headlines, I’m here with another installment of the “This Week in Cricket” series; which from now on will be covering all major and minor headlines from the bygone week, all put into one. Here’s all you need to know to stay in touch with the cricketing world right now.   Virat Kohli to step down from iT20 and IPL captaincy: As previously speculated by the Times of India, Virat Kohli is indeed stepping down from captaincy from the shortest format of the game. The 32-year-old took to Instagram to reveal it himself and thanked the BCCI officials for giving him the opportunity to lead the side for almost 5 years. Virat disclosed that arriving to the decision was tough and it took quite some time but following a lot of contemplating and discussions with head coach Ravi Shastri and vice-captain Rohit Sharma, he decided to step down as India’s iT20 captain post the T20 World Cup which is to be held ...

While millions of fans await the arrival of the T20 bonanza, the world of cricket saw some monumental shifts. While it was difficult for me to write individually dedicated articles on all of those topics, I decided to write a separate article, clubbing all those major newsworthy events from the last week or so under one umbrella. Here’s all you need to know to stay in touch with the cricketing world. India’s 5 th Test Match against England gets canceled due to covid worries : While the fate of the enthralling red-ball series hung in the balance, fans and experts alike were greatly disappointed when news came out that India had ‘ forfeited’ the last test match as the team’s senior physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar had contracted the covid-19. The players, who were traveling with their families were greatly worried about their safety and thus the team management had to take the bold step of forfeiting the game and ending the series in a draw of 2-2. But in an interesting turn of events ...

After a humbling defeat in the third test, India needed a collective team performance in order to stay alive in the series. Questionable choices in the playing XI raised a lot of doubts in the minds of experts and fans alike, but the team replied to all those criticisms in the best way possible: on the field. Not many expected India to bounce back, let alone in such an emphatic way after the visitors were given a lead of 99-runs. Yet somehow, with their backs against the wall, they fought their way through adversity and scripted a historic win at the Oval in a match filled with drama, passion and high-quality cricket. How did it all unfold? Read the full article to find out just how.   Playing XI: India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadaav. England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Mo...

After riding the highs from the historic win at Lord’s, India’s spirits were crushed at Headingley in a tragic turn of events. The visitors were left searching for answers for the brilliancy shown by the English bowlers. The game was a match of two halves, England dominating India with bat and ball in the first innings and India’s fight in the second innings to stay in the match. Want to know how it all went down? Read the full article to find out just how. Playing XI: India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj. England: Haseeb Hameed, Rory Burns, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson .   India 1 st Innings: When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside After winning the toss, skipper Kohli decided to bat first. What followed next was a comple...

  While the world stood at political unrest, the gentleman’s game emerged as an escape to billions of people once again. The 2nd Test Match at Lord’s was a fascinating tale of exemplary performances, miraculous comebacks and exquisite cricketing action for experts and fans alike. After the dust had finally settled, India emerged on top with a victory at the Mecca of cricket after 7 long years. How did it all unfold? Read the complete article to find out just how. Playing XI: India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj. England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson. India 1st Innings: India boosted by the Rahul-Rohit show as Anderson grabs 5-fer India’s new opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul proved just how good they are again in a s...

  After a triumphant series win in the ODI series, the men in blue wished to repeat the results in the 3-match T20i series as well. However, after the 1st T20, calamity struck the Indian dressing room when Krunal Pandya was tested positive for covid and as a result, everyone who came in contact to him had to isolate themselves. This meant another string of changes and debuts in the Indian playing XI, which really hampered the team’s overall performance in the following games. Want to know how it all went down? Read the full article to know just how. 1st T20i: Sri Lanka succumb to India’s swing bowlers After losing Prithvi Shaw on the very first ball, Skipper Dhawan (46) made decent 50+ partnerships with Sanju Samson (27) and then Suryakumar Yadav. The latter of which went on to score a magnificent half century as he continued to ride the momentum of his form with a string of quality performances. Being 127-4 after 15.2 overs and two new batsmen in Kishan (20*) and Hardik (10) in th...

  Upon entering the 3rd ODI match, everyone knew that the stakes were high as both the teams wanted to secure the win. For India, the win meant clean sweeping their opponents 3-0 in prime fashion and continuing the 9-year old legacy of not losing to Sri Lanka at their home turf; whereas for Sri Lanka, it was an opportunity to seek vengeance, after they dropped the metaphrical ball in the 2nd ODI and finally getting over the rough patch they've been having in recent times. The series finale between India and Sri Lanka, despite being ridiculed by rain, was an absolute barn burner of a contest with both sides fighting tooth and nail till their last breath. The match itself was a fascinating tale of new beginnings, returns, batting collapses, spin supremacy and some nail biting action. How did it all unfold? Read the full article to find out just how. Playing XI: India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson (wk), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Kri...

  The 2 nd ODI match at the R. Premadasa Stadium saw a thrilling nail-biting affair between the two Asian Heavyweights, the result of which wasn’t clear until the very last over was bowled as it kept fans at the edge of their seats throughout. The match was full of ups and downs and it took some serious heavy lifting from India’s lower middle-order to steal the game from Sri Lanka’s hands. How did it all unfold? Read the full article to find out just how. Playing XI: India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan (wk), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal. Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando, M. Bhanuka (wk), B. Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, C. Karunaratne, A. Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera, Lakshan Sandakan.   Sri Lanka Innings: Asalanka and Karunaratne help Sri Lanka finish on a high Sri Lanka couldn’t have asked for a better s...

After a month-long absence from the cricket field, the so-called “second-string” squad of India returned to action with a tour to our neighbors South of the border while the Indian Test Contingent prepares for the upcoming test series in England. Since the big names were absent from the side, the series gave the perfect opportunity for the youngsters to step up and grab the opportunity with both hands and perform for their side at the International level, under the leadership of veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan and coach Rahul Dravid. The series consists of 3 ODIs and 3 iT20s, all being played in the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The first ODI between the two old rivals was a completely one-sided affair with India emerging as the better team by a comprehensive margin in all aspects of the game. How did it all unfold? Read the full article to find out just how. Playing XI: India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan (wk), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya,...

  After 4 days of riveting red ball cricketing action, New Zealand was finally able to fulfill their decades' long prophecy as they defeated India and became the undisputed champions of Test Cricket. The ICC World Test Championship final was everything a final needed to be: a showcase of exceptional cricket coming from both sides and a fitting end to the career of a modern-day great. The match saw high tension, drama, heartbreaks, and heroic efforts, and to sum it all up, it was a treat to the viewers. Despite the lingering threat of rain, both the teams gave it their all and at the end of it, New Zealand emerged as the better team and etched their names in the history books. How did it all unfold? Read the full article to find out just how. Playing XI: India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma. New Zealand: Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Ka...