WI vs SA | 1st Test: Rabada five-for humbles crumbling Windies by an innings and 63 runs

If it was Lungi Ngidi in the first innings, Kagiso Rabada raised his hands in the second innings as the South Africans humbled the host West Indies in the first game of the two-match Test series at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St. Lucia.

Kagiso Rabada was the destroyer in chief for South Africa as the paceman ended with a five-wicket haul, his 10th of the Test career. Anrich Nortje was among the wickets much like the first innings as well. He picked three in this innings as well to add to his tally of three from the first innings. The rest of the two wickets were picked by left-arm orthodox spinner Keshav Maharaj.

Trailing by 144 runs overnight, the West Indian pair of Jermaine Blackwood and Roston Chase began the third day positively, but couldn’t get on with the partnership. At the team score of 97, he was trapped by Rabada as his third scalp. Former skipper and number one Test all-rounder, Jason Holder couldn’t do much either as he was bowled by Maharaj. Chase finally found some support in the form of wicket-keeper batsman Joshua da Silva, but even after batting for 10 overs together, the duo could add only 15 runs.

However, Chase’ concentration was finally broken as a Maharaj delivery ripped through his defences and castled him. The 29-year-old was the highest run-getter for the men in maroon in this entire game. He scored 62 off 156 balls. After his wicket, it was mere formalities and in the span of 22 runs, the last three wickets were taken by the Proteas.

Quinton de Kock for his brilliant hundred was adjudged Man of the Match. With all to play for in the second game, the West Indies would take the field to save the series, while South Africa would look to maintain its 15 years Tets series-winning run against the Caribbeans. The match would begin on June 18.

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Shikhar Dhawan-led India squad to quarantine in Mumbai before flying to Sri Lanka: Report

Much like the England-bound players, all the Indian players selected for the tour of Sri Lanka will fly on a chartered flight or business class in commercial airways to reach and get under a 14-day quarantine in Mumbai before flying to the island nation for an ODI and T20I series, PTI reported. The players will also undergo RT-PCR tests on alternate days while being under quarantine. The players will be under isolation for a week period before they will be allowed to meet in common areas of the team hotel, the report added. “All the rules will be same like we followed in England. The outstation players will come by charter flight and some fly business class of commercial airline. They will do seven days of room quarantine and then can meet in common areas inside the bio-bubble. The players will do gym sessions in staggered manner,” PTI quoted an anonymous BCCI source as saying. Indian players and support staff are slated to be under quarantine for just three days upon arrival in Sri Lanka and then they will undergo intra-squad training where they will practice as per match situations. “It will be just like what’s happening in England. Match situations will be created and that’s how the intra-squad training will be held. You can’t have your main players get out off the first ball and not bat again or bat for the whole innings. Everyone needs training so it won’t be practice games as such,” the source added. India’s tour of Sri Lanka is scheduled to commence on July 13 with the three-match ODI series which will be followed by an equally longer T20I series from July 21.

England announce 16-man squad for Sri Lanka T20Is, recall Woakes, Willey, Dawson after long time

England have announced their 16-man squad for the T20 series against Sri Lanka scheduled to take off on June 23. The squad will see the return of Chris Woakes, who last played for England in the format way back in 2015 and David Willey, who has not played white-ball cricket for England since 2019 and Liam Dawson who has not featured since the year 2018. The side will also see the return of Jos Buttler after missing out in the Test series against New Zealand as England went ahead with ‘fresh faces.’ from the Test squad facing the Blackcaps in a two-match Test series, only Mark Wood has found a place in the lineup. England head coach and now also a selector Chris Silverwood underlined the preparation for the ICC World T20 scheduled for later this year behind the move to pick other ‘experienced’ players as many other first-choice players such as Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer are yet to recover from injuries. "With the T20 World Cup only a few months away, this summer is about perfecting our team and continue to progress on the field. We want to approach every series with an influx of players aiming to win every match and giving us the best preparation as we get closer to the tournament," England Men's Head Coach, Chris Silverwood, said. "With several high-profile players missing through injury, it allows me to look at some of our experienced players who have not featured at this level for some time. The likes of Chris Woakes and David Willey are very experienced cricketers, and to have them both in the mix is exciting and shows the depth of squad we have available. I want our team to play an attacking form of the game. I hope we can continue to excite the England fans with our approach," he added. England squad Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (WK), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Shakib Al Hasan handed three-match ban, fined BDT 5 lakh after Dhaka Premier League outbursts

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is all set to be sanctioned a four-match ban after the episodes of angry outbursts against umpire in a Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier League match on June 11. As per a Cricbuzz report, the Mohammedan Sporting Club cricket committee chairman Masuduzzaman has confirmed that umpires have recommended a four-match ban for one of the biggest stars in Bangladesh cricket. He also said that the Mohammedan Sporting Club will seek details from the Bangladesh Cricket Board on why a player of such stature resorted to such unceremonious behaviour. “We have not got any official letter so far but we have learnt that the umpires committee have recommended a four-match ban. We will appeal to the board and ask them that they must dig the matter and see why Shakib was prompted to take such a step. Naturally, it was not acceptable but at the same time we have to find out why it happened,'' Mohammedan Sporting Club cricket committee chairman Masuduzzaman said to Cricbuzz. Shakib’s behaviour attracted a lot of criticism on social media and both the fans and people having their eyes on the game demanded strict punishment for the all-rounder. Some of them went to the extent of a life ban for Shakib though that seems unlikely.

Ruturaj Gaikwad recalls 'calm' conversation with MS Dhoni after India call up

After earning an India call up for the tour of Sri Lanka, Ruturaj Gaikwad recalled a conversation he had with his IPL captain MS Dhoni where the former Indian skipper suggested him to enjoy the moment instead of putting himself under a lot of pressure. Giving a detailed account of his conversation, Gaikwad said that Dhoni made him relaxed and calmer by not putting the onus of winning the games for the Chennai Super Kings on his shoulder. "He said 'you have already been through a lot due to Covid-19. As a captain, I am not expecting too much from you. We have given you the opportunity not to show who you are at this point but to play for CSK, a great franchise, and enjoy your time' because you'll never know what will happen next. Make sure you enjoy the opportunities. If you're putting pressure on yourself, you are adding it to yourself. We, as management, aren't expecting anything, we just want you to go out there and enjoy for now and gain experience. I think it helped me a lot, it helped me relax a little bit and made me feel calmer,” Gaikwad told India Today. Although he did not talk with Dhoni about the dreams of playing for India in specific conversation, Gaikwad recalled that Dhoni reminded him of his ‘potential and capacity.’ "Not really we discussed (India hopes) but one or two times he has mentioned that I have the potential and I have the capacity. He said 'you don't have to think about one particular tournament or one particular season. You have to think of playing for India, you have ample time. You have to keep thinking about it and how you are going to reach there and how you can sustain there,” Gaikwad added. Gaikwad has had a stellar run for form from the latter half of the IPL 2021 and followed it up with promising innings in the tournament earlier this year before he was picked for the tour of Sri Lanka in an unexpected call, even for himself.