India tour of Sri Lanka | Three-match long ODI, T20I series to start on July 13

People will watch football if one-sided matches like Pakistan-Zimbabwe continue in Tests: Ramiz Raja

Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja has not liked the idea of a Test series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe one bit. He has refuted the long-standing idea that when a small team play against well-established ones they understand and develop their skills by looking at players and the approach of those teams. He said that the host Zimbabwe showed no signs of learning from the Pakistan team and rather were humiliated in both the Tests of the series. He said there should be no sense of idealism in organising matches between two mismatched teams as it will force people to switch to other sports such as football for lack of competitiveness in the game. “Some people are of the opinion that when a weak team plays a strong one, you need to focus on what you learn from it rather than the outcome of the match. You learn from the stronger team’s process and the way it adapts to the changing situation of a game. But I don’t think Zimbabwe learned anything from this series because they were continuously dominated by Pakistan. Also, there was no difference in their performance in the second Test as compared to the first one,” said Raja on his official YouTube channel. “Such mismatch series should not take place. Test cricket is already under pressure and very few people watch it. If you show them such one-sided matches, then they will switch to watching football or other sports. Three-day Test match is a joke,” he added. Notably, Pakistan handed Zimbabwe innings defeat in both the Tests played in Harare.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam wins ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for April

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for April for his consistent and outstanding performances across all formats in the recently concluded series against South Africa. Babar was in superb form with the bat against the Proteas and scored a match-winning 82-ball 94 in the third ODI of the series followed by another match-winning innings of 122 runs from just 59 balls. He defeated his fellow countryman Fakhar Zaman and Nepal’s Kushal Bhurtel to clinch the Player of the Month title for April. The Player of the Month is chosen by fans and the ICC voting academy and former Pakistan batsman Ramiz Raja while representing the academy said that Babar Azam has a different flair of batting and dominating bowling atatcks and he richly deserves the player of the month award. “The world bats in two ways in white ball cricket. One way is to destroy attacks with muscle and force and then there is the Babar Azam way, like conducting a batting symphony with punch, panache and flair, and he deserves to win this award,” Raja said. In the calendar month of April, Babar Azam scored 228 runs across three-match long ODI series with an astounding average of 76 runs per innings. He followed it with another dominating series with the bat in the T20Is and piled on 305 runs across four T20Is at an average fo 43.57.

ZIM vs PAK | 2nd Test: Pakistan thrash African minnows, left-armers bag fifers apiece

Pakistan completed a 2-0 whitewash against Zimbabwe after they thrashed the African minnows by an innings and 147 runs. Right from Day 1, there never came a situation where Zimbabwe got any sort of momentum either in the batting or the bowling front. Eventually, it was a clinical bowling display on the second and third day from Pakistan which resulted in a convincing victory for them. Also for the first time in history, two left-arm pacers from Pakistan took all the ten wickets in the sec0nd innings. The toss turned out to be an important factor for Pakistan. Babar Azam didn’t have any hesitations batting first and there was no way back for them. Riding on a sensational double century from the blade of Abid Ali and a century from Azhar Ali, Pakistan posted a mammoth 510 on the board in their first innings. For Zimbabwe, it was a fiery spell from Blessing Muzarabani which fetched him three wickets. However, he wasn’t quite consistent for longer periods of time. The only blip up for Pakistan remains Babar Azam’s return in this series. He fell after scoring just two but a partnership of 236 runs between Abid Ali and Azhar Ali had already set the tone for Pakistan. To top it off, it was a sensational 8th wicket partnership between Hasan Ali and Nauman Ali which took Pakistan beyond the 500 mark. Zimbabwe was never up to the mark in either of the innings. They were not ready to play the waiting game and kept giving away their wickets cheaply to the Pakistan bowlers. Hasan Ali was the star for Pakistan with the ball in the first innings bagging yet another fifer for his country. He bowled deadly lines and the Zimbabwe batsmen kept succumbing one after the other. Regis Chakabva was the top scorer for Zimbabwe with 33 as they were skittled out for a meagre 132 runs in just a shade over 60 overs. Barring Hasan Ali, Sajid Khan also bagged a couple. There was no hesitation in Babar Azam’s mind on enforcing the follow on. Zimbabwe was a tad better in the second innings but was nowhere close to avoiding the innings defeat. The pair of Shaheen Afridi Nauman Ali was the two wreckers in chief bagging fifers apiece. Chakabva again looked composed in the middle and was the highest scorer again with a knock of 80. A partnership of 80 off runs with Brendan Taylor settled the nerves a bit but from there on, the two left-arm pacers tightened the screws around the Zimbabwe batsmen as wickets kept falling on a consistent basis. Eventually, they were bundled out for 231, handing Pakistan an innings victory.

Piyush Chawla's father passes away suffering from post-Covid complications

Former Indian spinner Piyush Chawla’s father died today after suffering from Covid-19 and post-covid complications. Piysuh Chawala took to his Instagram handle to share the tragic news to the world and his followers. "With deepest grief, we announce that my beloved father, Mr Pramod Kumar Chawla, left for the heavenly abode on 10th May 2021. He was suffering from covid and post covid complications. We invite your kind thoughts and prayers in this difficult times. May his noble soul rest in peace," Chawla wrote in his Instagram post. Former Indian players and his teammates such as Suresh Raina, RP Singh and Irfan Pathan expressed their grief and condolences. Piyush Chawla was bought by the Mumbai Indians in the auction earlier this year before th IPL 2021 but he could not find a place in the playing XI in the seven matches before the tournament was indefinitely postponed following Covid-19 outbreak in teams.