IPL 2021 | RCB's Washington Sunder ruled out, Bengal’s Akash Deep named replacement for UAE leg

CPL 2021 | Tim Seifert’s last-minute heroics not enough as St Lucia defeat Trinbago for the first time since 2016

Tim Seifert had almost won it for Trinabgo Knight Riders with his 16 ball 40, but for the brilliant last over by Wahab Riaz who made sure that St Lucia Kings register their first-ever win since 2016 against the team from Trinidad and Tobago. When Seifert walked in, the chances of a Trinbago victory were hanging by the thread as their captain and most charismatic batter in Kieron Pollard had been caught out and still, 56 more runs were needed from 21 balls for a win. However, on the very first ball that he faced, the Kiwi hit a four and in the next over hit 14 off Alzarri Joseph. Though in the end, he might regret the three dot balls that he ate up in that over. He more than made up for it in the nineteenth over, hitting 20 off Keemo Paul’s five deliveries to bring the target down to 14 off the last over. But the drama got to another level in the last over. After hitting a four on the first ball and taking a single on the next to bring Seifert back on strike, Colin Munro wouldn’t have thought that he would have to run a bye on the fifth ball because Seifert could only score only a single on the two balls that he faced and with seven needed from the last two balls when Munro wasn’t able to get bat on ball, he had to run a bye and nearly got run out as Spiceman Andre Fletcher hit the stumps from behind the wicket. But even with two batters almost at the same end, no one got run out as Munro, who was on strike hadn’t left the crease before the ball hit the stumps, and although Seifert was still to get into the crease at the batting end, ideally he would have had to be run out at the non-striker’s end. Thus after all the confusion, the run was given and it all came down to a six from the last ball. Riaz bowled a bouncer which hit Seifert on the chest and he could get only a single. Thus a hard-earned victory was Kings’ to enjoy after a devastating defeat in their first clash against the Jamaica Tallawahs. Earlier in the morning, after losing the toss and being asked to bat first, the Kings got a brilliant start as their openers took the score past 50 in only five overs. However, with Ravi Rampaul striking thrice, the Kings were shortly 69-4 with two new batters in Roston Chase and Tim David at the crease. David, in his style of attack from the word go, managed to keep the scoreboard rolling at a nice pace even as Chase took time settling down. The two added 68 runs for the fifth wicket and with Keemo Paul’s lusty blows, in the end, the Kings managed to get to 157 from their 20 overs. The two teams would now go head to head in another round of battle at the same venue of Warner Park, Basseterre after one day's rest. The two will now collide on August 31 at 07:30 pm IST.

England call upon Chris Woakes, Sam Billings as Jos Buttler and Saqib Mahmood are released

The England coach Chris Silverwood announced the Men’s squad for the fourth England-India Test at Oval starting Thursday, 02nd September. Chris Woakes, who had been out of the squad after the New Zealand series in early June and bowled well in the T20 Blast for his side Birmingham Bears makes a return to the side. “It is very pleasing that we have Chris Woakes returning to the Test squad. He has bowled well over the past week with Warwickshire without any real concerns with his heel injury. He is an asset we have been missing both with the ball and his ability to score runs in the middle order,” Silverwood said in a press release of England and Wales Cricket Board. Along with Woakes, Kent star Sam Billings has also been called upon as reserved wicketkeeper. “He understands how we want to approach our cricket and is a popular member of the group. He will fit in well with the rest of the group,” Silverwood said about Billings’ arrival in the squad. Saqib Mahmood, who was called in after Stuart Broad was injured has been released from the squad to join his side Lanachsire in their quest for a County championship title as they start their Division 1 journey from August 30. wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has also been released to be with his family during his wife’s impending delivery for their second child in September. In Buttler’s absence, Bairstow will take the gloves while Billings would remain the reserve wicketkeeper. “We would like to wish Jos (Buttler) and his family all the very best for the impending birth of their second child. Unfortunately, he will miss this Test. Jonny Bairstow will take over wicketkeeping duties,” the England coach said. Earlier in the day, Silverwood had already announced that Mark Wood, who got injured during the second Test at Lord’s was available for selection. With the series level at 1-1 and Oval being a spin-friendly condition, the Indian team wouldn’t be an easy pass for England whatsoever. But with bowling stocks intact, they would look to make the most of it. England Men’s Fourth Test Squad Joe Root (Capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings, Rory Burns, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

IRE vs ZIM | Long overdue innings from Kevis O’Brien see Ireland draw level

Kevin O’Brien repaid captain Andrew Balbirnie’s and Irish team management’s faith in him as he struck a 41 ball 60 to guide his team to a seven-wicket win against Zimbabwe in the second T20I at Castle Avenue, Clontarf. With this win, the Irish team levelled the five-match series 1-1 having lost the match by three runs in a closely fought low scoring contest. Chasing a competitive total of 153, Ireland got off to a fantastic start, crossing the fifty run mark in the powerplay without losing any wicket. Paul Stirling played as he does, getting to 37 off just 29 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes before being caught by Regis Chakabva behind the wickets off Ryan Burl’s leg-spin. Balbairnie followed suit. O’Brien who was waiting in the wings at the time of the Stirling show slowly started picking pace and in no time he Ireland were looking at victory as the 39-year-old reached his fourth fifty playing his 101st T20I. By the time he got out on 60, the Irish scorecard read 129-3 with only 24 runs required off 26 balls. George Dockrell was up to the task and finished the game by hitting three fours on the first three balls of the 19th over bowled by last match hero Richard Ngarava. Earlier in the day, thanks to the highest sixth-wicket t20I partnership for Zimbabwe by Milton Shumba and Ryan Burl, the Chevrons reached a competitive total of 152, even as they were 64-5 in the first 10 overs. O’Brien was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant innings. With the series level at 1-1, the two teams now move to Bready in Northern Ireland where they would play the remaining three matches of the five-match series with the third one taking place on Wednesday, September 01.

IPL 2021 | Shreyas Iyer vows stronger comeback, doesn't fear 'competition' for spots in WT20 squad

Having sat out for the first part of the Indian Premier League, the Delhi Capitals captain for the last three years, Shreyas Iyer is vowing to make a strong comeback in the second part of the tournament. He had missed out from the competitions after dislocating his shoulder in the ODI series against England preceding the IPL and the Capitals made a strong start in the season under the captaincy of Rishabh Pant. Iyer credited the success of the Capitals, whom he rated as a “warrior”, to the “environment” of the side from the 2019 edition. He said that he understands the “DNA” of the Capitals that they will come hard in the second half to go all the way in this edition after missing out in the finals last year. "Unfortunately, IPL had to be stopped mid-season, but it has presented me with the opportunity again and I will, as a player and as someone who understands the DNA of our team, will do everything in my role to see the dream of our fans come true. I would reckon our first half performance this season is a result of the environment we had created in 2019 and 2020. Last year, we came so close to winning IPL," Shreyas said in an interview with PTI. "Over the last two years, we have transformed DC into a warrior side. That has come from the system and process we had put in place and thanks to the management in trusting my abilities to be able to deliver for the team," feels Shreyas. Iyer was handed over the captaincy of the Capitals midway through the 2018 edition in a drive of backing youth by the franchise while the team was struggling to make a mark in the leadership of Gautam Gambhir. Having led the side successfully for two consecutive seasons, Iyer sees himself as a “better cricketer”, who has developed a better outlook of the game and leadership quality. "Captaincy at Delhi Capitals has made me a better cricketer. I look at things, situations, the sport differently. It has improved my temperamental skills, my man-management skills as a leader. Ricky Ponting has been very supportive on that," he added. Iyer had established his place at the number four position in white-ball cricket before some middling scores put him under pressure amid rising stocks of players such as Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav. He was well-positioned in the Indian ODI and T20 playing XI but the injury and high performances of Pant at his place do not guarantee him a place in the squad for the ICC World T20. While playing the IPL for the Capitals, where he is likely to bat at the number three position, Iyer would have his one eye on the World T20. He had admitted a “bigger appetite” for runs in the IPL to stake a claim in the India WT20 squad but ruled out excessive impact of “competition” from his compatriots. "Competition has always been in Indian cricket and will always be. It is a competitive sport after all. But for me, it won't be an understatement to say that I have a bigger appetite now. Look, my competition has always been with myself. It's You vs You. It has worked out well for me in the past, for how I have played this sport so far, and I have no reason to doubt myself that I can't repeat and achieve that again and more,” Iyer asserted. There is a lack of clarity about Iyer’s comeback to the Capitals’ captaincy as he was not part of the initial squad. He is eligible to play in the tournament as a batsman but there has not been any official communication from either the IPL or the Capitals management about who will lead the side in the second part of the tournament starting on September 19 in the UAE.