AUS vs IND: Virat Kohli becomes fastest batsman to 12,000 ODI runs

England in SA: Dawid Malan: The beauty and the beast

Malan's soothing blitz not only justifies his tag as the number-one ranked T20I craftsman but also purchases him a breather in England's merry-go-round.

Malan's Brilliance Blows Away South Africa to Give England Series Whitewash

England completed a highly satisfying clean sweep over hosts South Africa in the three-match T20I series with a comprehensive 9-wicket win in the final game, at Cape Town. The star of the show, once again, was batsman Dawid Malan, who finished with 99 not out. He was ably assisted by Jos Buttler who remained unbeated on 67 at the other end. Thanks to the superlative batting of these two individuals, a seeminly big target of 192 was chased down by the visitors in just 17.4 overs. For the first time in this series, the toss went in favour of South Africa, but they chose to bat first, the same situation that England put them in during the first two games. The Proteas were propped up by two good innings. Faf du Plessis once again came good, scoring 52 off 37 balls. He was bettered by the man with whom he created a 128-run partnership, Rassie van der Dussen. The latter smashing 74 in just 32 balls. This undefeated partnership took South Africa to 191/3 in their 20 overs. In reply, England romped home thanks to a blazing 167-run partnership between Buttler and Malan. The wicketkeeper batsman scored 67 off 46 but got upstaged by Malan whose 99 came off just 47 balls. Captain's Take After suggesting that his team wasn't far off the mark in the first two games of the series, South Africa captain de Kock accepted that in this match, they were thoroughly outplayed. But he still thinks his team isn't out of sorts. "It's disappointing, but they blew us away. They put our bowlers under a lot of pressure, played cleverly and we couldn't stop them. We are not playing as badly as it is perceived to be. We are coming up against the English first-up and, going forward, the boys are confident." the captain said after the match. Eoin Morgan was satisfied by his team's performance in this match. After being apprehensive about aresa of his team's game in the first two matches, the England skipper was full of praise this time. "It's extremely pleasing. Dawid and Jos were absolutely outstanding. To win a game in such commanding fashion builds a lot of confidence in the changing room. To be able to chase a total like that, given we didn't get off to an absolute flier, it's very encouraging signs." Morgan did notice that there is still room for improvement, probably hinting at his team's bowling. "We need to put together an allround game, we've progressed nicely, but as regards performance, striving for that collective performance is important," he pertinently added. Expert's Take Nor surprisingly, the comments by experts and followers of England team, following the match, were full of praise for Malan. Former England cricketer and now, a commentator, Ebony Rainford-Brent had the same reaction to the left-hander's batting. "Only just noticed Malan’s T20 international strike rate is 144! Same as Buttler. Impressive!," she noted. How good Malan is was also explained succintly by commentator Daniel Norcross. "Babar Azam is the fastest man to 1000 runs in T20I (26 innings). Kohli second fastest (27). Dawid Malan has scored 855 runs in 19 innings at an average of 53.44. Only two men average over 50 after 20 innings (Azam and Kohli). If Malan plays one more match he will be the third." Cricket author and analyst Freddie Wilde summed up the current position of Malan in the England team. "There are still actually a fair few T20Is before the World Cup—& time for players to fall in & out of form—but it's increasingly hard to imagine an England team at the World Cup without Dawid Malan in it. Coming from the outside he's made himself close to undroppable." Always upbeat about England's prospects, former captain Michael Vaughan chipped in with his comment. "Whoever beats England will win the T20 World Cup next year ... #JustSaying" Only time will tell whether this is overconfidence or not.

New Zealand vs West Indies | 1st Test: Match Preview, Predicted XI & Dream11 Fantasy Picks

The first Test between New Zealand and West Indies gets underway in Hamilton on Thursday. New Zealand, under the solid leadership of Kane Williamson, will be big favourites on home soil. The Kiwis have rarely lost a Test series at home in the last decade. Against them, a promising but brittle Windies line-up will have an uphill task. What would give West Indies hope is the quality of their seam bowlers and the possibility of helpful conditions. But in order to capitalise on the good work of their bowlers, the Caribbean batsmen will have to bat way better than what they produced in their last two Tests. This won't be easy against one of the best bowling pairs in world cricket today - Tim Southee and Trent Boult. If they get through them, Neil Wagner will be waiting with a barrage of bouncers. Brittle Windies Batting 'Calypso Collapso' is a term often used to describe West Indies' batting. There have been instances in the last few years where the side has broken this image with uncharacteristically solid performances. The most prominent among them being the brilliant run chase in Headingly in 2017 and the batting against England at home in the 2019 series. But with the Windies side, one always gets the feeling that another shambolic performance is just round the corner. Luckily for them, their opener Kraigg Braithwaite has shown good form in the warm-ups. His 248 in the practice game against New Zealand A - a personal best in first-class cricket - is a good omen. The return of Darren Bravo in the middle order adds invaluable experience and skill. Roston Chase has been a consistent performer by the standards of West Indies. But other batsmen are not always reliable. Shimron Hetmyer is hugely talented, but is a bit too impetuous. Jermaine Blackwood has improved himself from an unguided dasher to a more calculating player, but needs to be more consistent. Interestingly, the lower order of the batting line-up seems a little more reassuring. Shane Dowrich and Jason Holder have bailed their teams out of trouble several times. But they would need help from the middle order to take their team to a winning position. Stable New Zealand Without anyone noticing it, the Kiwis have developed a highly dependable batting line-up. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are the two superstars in the middle order. But around those two, there are other high-quality batsmen also who have proved their worth with brilliant performances. Tom Latham has been a regular member of the New Zealand team since 2014 and has become a successful opener for the side. Henry Nicholls has also established himself firmly in the middle order in the last couple of years. BJ Watling is among the best wicket-keeper batsmen in the world but he may be missing due to injury. In his absence, Tom Blundell seems a very capable option. Colin de Grandhomme's injury is a big blow but still, the batting seems very solid. New Zealand vs West Indies 1st Test: Match Details Venue: Seddon Park, Hamilton Broadcast: Amazon Prime Video Date and Timing: December 3, 3:30 AM IST, 10 PM GMT, 11 AM Local Pitch Report The pitch at hamilton does not have any great distinguishing features. Like most venues in New Zealand, what happens in the match has more to do with overcast conditions than those on the track. If the weather stays fine and the hosts don't demand an especially green wicket, it's likely to be a good batting wicket. The last Test here, between New Zealand and England last year, ended in a run-filled draw. Weather and Toss There is chance of rain on the first day. If the skies remain overcast, both teams will consider bowling first. Bit of cloud cover is expected on the next two days as well but not too much. Day 4 is expected to be sunny but rain is expected on the final day. Teams New Zealand are in doubt over the availability of BJ Watling. In his absence, Tom Blundell may have to keep wickets. In that scenario, a new opening partner will have to be found for Latham as it would be too much for Blundell to perform both the Tasks. Devon Conway has been added to the squad and he is likely to get a go if Watling missed out. The injury to de Grandhomme also ensures a place for Will Young, the 28-year old Central Districts batsman. Probable XI: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (Wk), Will Young, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult West Indies With Shai Hope dropped from the team, a crucial spot opens up in the middle order. However, there are two strong contenders for it - Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer. With Bravo's experience and good form in the practice matches, he is certain to get in. But Hetmyer also has a good chance to make it to the side due to the all-round abilities of Chase. Probable XI: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shamarh Brooks, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich (Wk), Jason Holder (C), Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel Dream11 Fantasy Team Suggestions Tom Latham, Kraigg Braithwaite, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich (Wk), Jason Holder, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult

Stuart Broad nominated for BBC Sports Personality Of The Year award

England fast bowler Stuart Broad has been nominated for one of the most prestigious awards in the Sports fraternity, the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY). With this nomination, the 34-year-old has become the third cricketer in a row to be nominated for the highest sporting honour for a sportsman in the United Kingdom. Before Broad, Ben Stokes was nominated for his World Cup-winning moment last year and also won the award. Earlier in 2018, James Anderson, Broad’s longtime new-ball partner was nominated for the award in the year 2018 when he became the first British cricketer to get to the level of 500 Test wickets. Broad, who reached the milestone of his 500 Test wickets in his man of the series-winning performance against West Indies early this summer, has been nominated alongside the likes of record-equalling seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. In that series against Windies, Broad took 16 wickets in just two games. Further in the next three games against Pakistan, he took 13 wickets to end the summer with 29 wickets from just five games. By the end of the summer, Broad had reached seventh place in the all-time list of Test wicket-takers, with 514 at 27.65 in 143 Tests. The Nottingham born announced this news on his Twitter handle early this morning today with the caption, “Such a huge honour to be nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020. Thanks, @gregjames& @thebodycoach for announcing. Right- back to the cricket nets! Cricket bat and ball Thank You! #SPOTY.” Apart from Ben Stokes, a total of four cricketers have won this award which includes the likes of English legends, Jim Laker and Ian Botham. Apart from them, the much liked Andrew Flintoff also won it in 2005, for his Ashes showing, in an era when Australia dominated the cricket world. David Steele is the only cricketer to have won the award for his county performances as the Northamptonshire player is the only one who has taken more than 500 first-class wickets and also scored more than 20,000 runs in the format. In total, the spectacled man played a total of 500 first-class games. Although his England stint was only 8 matches long.