Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from the first day of the India-England Test at Trent Bridge.
England captain Joe Root confirmed that rookie batsman Ollie Pope will make his debut against India in the second Test starting at Lord's on Thursday.
Jasprit Bumrah will have to squeeze every ounce of energy from his already overworked body, while Ajinkya Rahane will hope to get one final chance to save his international career when India take on England in the fifth and final Test, chasing a historic series win, in Manchester on Friday.
England's most successful bowler James Anderson feels he and Stuart Broad should be paired together to lead the bid for a series win in the decisive Test against the West Indies. The hosts are spoilt for choice ahead of Friday's start of the third Test at Old Trafford with Anderson, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood all looking to return to the team.
Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, have done an excellent job in restricting the oppositions but KKR's top-order batting has hurt them the most.
Mumbai Indians enter the match high on confidence following successive victories over holders Chennai Super Kings and last edition's finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The tournament, which has been shifted to the UAE due to five million plus COVID cases in India, is a 'TV-only event', expected to be lapped up by all and sundry who crave for cricket and Bollywood in equal measure during prime time.
Up against Delhi Capitals, RCB will need to address their middle-order woes, to return to winning ways, in what could be touted as a battle of equals.
KKR did not win the mini-battles in the game and 172 eventually proved too little.
The in-form Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore takes on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in a top-of-the-table IPL showdown in Mumbai on Sunday with two points and momentum at stake.
England's Ben Foakes made a memorable debut to help the tourists recover from a terrible start and reach 321 for eight wickets on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Tuesday.
In all likelihood, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane would get another chance but over the past two years, his inconsistency has hurt this team badly.
Smith was handed a one-year ban along with his then deputy David Warner exactly a year ago for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 5th Ashes Test played between England and Australia on Thursday.
The performance of openers Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul has been the biggest plus for India in the batting department. Both have showed remarkable temperament and technique in testing conditions to give the team a solid start.
'Ngidi won't be available. He won't be arriving in time for the next game'
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers after the third week of IPL 2021.
England fast bowler Jofra Archer on Monday claimed he was subjected to "racial insults" by a spectator during the fifth and final day of the first Test against New Zealand, in Mount Maunganui.
KKR posted a competitive 167, courtesy of Rahul Tripathi's brilliant 81 from 51 balls.
Jonny Bairstow has been rested and injured pacer Jofra Archer was left out while spinner Moeen Ali was unavailable for Test selection.
At the halfway point, after winning just two games out of seven, CSK are looking set to miss the play-offs for the first time in their history. Harish Kotian tells Captain M S Dhoni and Coach Stephen Fleming how to get CSK back to its winning ways.
'I think the ECB has been very forward-thinking,' Buttler said, praising the board for recognising the challenges of living in bio-bubbles
Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore have won only three games out of 10 in IPL-12 so far.
'It must be a nightmare for the selectors, but should you have your best side for that first India Test? If the next Test after this series was Brisbane in the Ashes, would we send our best side? So why when it's the first Test against India, one of the great sides, aren't we sending our best team?'
In the bowling department, pacer Mohammad Abbas (13th) and experienced leg-spinner Yasir Shah (24th), who have in the past, been ranked third and first, respectively, and left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (32nd) are other Pakistan players to watch.
Capitals were the best team in the league and their 20-point finish at the group stage was an indication of their consistent performances which didn't dip due to the COVID-19 forced break. CSK, over the years, have been in final eight times and won on three occasions which speak volumes of the team's ability to lift their game just when it's required most.
England captain Joe Root lauded off-spinner Moeen Ali's match-winning effort of nine wickets terming his performance in the 60-run win as the best ever for the national team.
Sunrsiers' middle-order has hardly been tested and when the opportunity came against Mumbai Indians, the likes of Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan fell flat.
CSA on Friday said that Marco Jansen has replaced Ottniel Baartman, who has been ruled out "due to medical reasons of a separate nature.".
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
Images from the fourth Twenty20 International between India and England, in Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
Trent Boult finished with IPL career-best 4-18 in his four overs, including a maiden, while Jasprit Bumrah took 2-25 as CSK finished on a lowly 114-9 in their 20 overs.
Images from the third T20 International between India and England, in Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
England produced a brilliant comeback to beat Australia by two runs on the final ball of their first T20 international in Southampton on Friday after the visitors looked to be cruising to victory in their first competitive match for six months.
For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he had to hand the ball to Ravindra Jadeja to bowl the match-deciding final over against Delhi Capitals as Dwayne Bravo, his preferred option, was not available due to fitness issues.
Rishabh Pant's brute power will be put to test against Rashid Khan's bagful of tricks in an IPL encounter where Delhi Capitals will start as favourites against SunRisers Hyderabad due to their better bowling resources.
MS Dhoni landed in Chennai on Monday to the hero's welcome. Fans gathered to watch Dhoni as CSK began practice for the forthcoming IPL, which begins on March 29.
MS Dhoni will start training for his much-anticipated return to action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from March 2. He is expected to practice for a couple of weeks with the likes of Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu among others
The Federal Bureau of Investigation placed a source in direct contact with Osama bin Laden in 1993 and ascertained that the Al Qaeda leader was looking to finance terror attacks in the United States, according to a media report.
