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Riding on the back of a sizzling cameo from Ravindra Jadeja and a 3-wicket haul from his concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal, the Men in Blue took a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series. The composition of their playing XI and batting order have been subjects of great discussion over the last few weeks, among fans and experts alike. With their win in the 1st T20I, India answered a number of questions that have been posed to them by followers of the game....

When Matthew Wade was on 50, a delivery from T Natarajan struck the Aussie opener on the pads. Umpire Rod Tucker ruled in favour of the batsman, and Indian skipper Virat Kohli attempted to review the LBW decision. The ball was going on to hit leg-stump, and the Men in Blue would’ve gotten a much-needed breakthrough. However, the review was said to be ‘’null and void’’ by third umpire Paul Wilson, as the big screen on the ground had already shown a replay of the incident before the 15-second time interval to take the review had elapsed....

The Hyderabad pacer lost his father while he was on the Australian tour. He had decided to stay back and play for India instead of returning home for the last rites. Siraj got his debut opportunity soon and made an instant impact in the second Test in Melbourne. The 26-year-old took five crucial wickets in India’s memorable victory. In the third Test in Sydney, Siraj once again got the big breakthrough for India by making David Warner edge a wide delivery to first slip....

On a rain-affected morning on Day 1 of the third Test, the Aussies came with all guns blazing against the Indian bowlers. Notably, the fabled leg-side dominated field which helped India push away their opponents in Melbourne, seemed to have lost its touch on Thursday. Debutant Will Pucovski first, and then Steve Smith and Marnus Marnus Labuschagne were nimble in their footwork and found the gaps with ease. This often forced Indian stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane to tweak the fielding positions during the course of the day....

Pujara fumbled and almost dropped a sitter. But the 33-year-old held on to the catch after a few juggles, and Ben Stokes had to depart after a thoroughly entertaining innings. Here is the video of his dismissal: Ben Stokes’ counter-attack puts England in the ascendency With England skipper Joe Root making his intentions clear that the visitors will look to score big in their first innings, Team India looked to make early inroads on Day 2, as Ben Stokes was new at the crease....

Joe Root previously had played 6 Tests in India and had a score over fifty in each one of them. Barring his century at Rajkot in 2016, the 30-year-old failed to convert any of the other scores into a big hundred. Since then, Root had lost his place in the ‘Big Four’ of modern-day cricket, which consists of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson. But the England captain has worked hard on his game and is now reaping rewards for his perseverance....

Having completed their mandatory quarantine period, India’s focus now shifts to preparations for the first Test, which gets underway in Chennai on Friday. In a video posted on BCCI’s Twitter account, Indian players are seen enjoying themselves to the fullest in a session of light-hearted activities, including a game of footvolley. It is a sport that combines aspects of beach volleyball and football. Watch the video below: Explaining why they decided to go for a team bonding session instead of hardcore training, Nick Webb, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, said in the video:...

The duo got into a bitter verbal spat on Day 5 of the Test match. Tim Paine’s expletive-ridden rant was picked up by the stump mic, with many condemning his unsportsmanlike behaviour. Former players such as Sunil Gavaskar and Michael Vaughan slammed Paine for his derogatory remarks towards Ravichandran Ashwin. The Australian skipper called an impromptu press conference on Tuesday, as he shared what happened after the duo spoke to each other after play....

It all happened on the third ball of the 25th over when Yadav bowled yet another good length delivery from around the wicket. The ball swung into Malan and the England No. 3 proceeded to feel for it. The ball flew towards the slip cordon and Rohit Sharma dived to his right in front of Virat Kohli to complete a stunning grab. Watch Rohit Sharma’s sensational grab to dismiss Dawid Malan here:...

The ace batter scored an unbeaten 82 off 52 deliveries and helped India to win a last-ball thriller over their arch-rivals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23. Kohli brought India back into the contest against all odds against a potent Pakistani bowling unit. He hit two consecutive sixes off Haris Rauf in the penultimate over to massively bring the equation down and steer India to victory in the dying moments of the contest....

Speaking on the YouTube channel OneCricket, he clarified that his intention was not to offend anyone with his comments. Younis stated that the purpose of his tweet was only to “spice things up a bit” ahead of the much-awaited clash. Younis said: Younis did, however, point out that Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowlers had rattled India’s top-order during the ICC Champions Trophy final in 2017 as well as at the T20 World Cup 2021 last year in the UAE:...

After winning the toss and electing to bowl, the Men in Blue made major inroads into Pakistan’s batting lineup. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for the Men in Green with a 42-ball 43. A much-needed impetus from No. 11 batter Shahnawaz Dahani towards the end saw Pakistan reach a sub-par score of 147 in 20 overs. Dahani hit two sixes en route to his six-ball 16 runs before being cleaned up by Arshdeep Singh off the penultimate ball of the innings....

The ugly fall-out Kohli and the BCCI are rumored to have had has led to a series of questionable decisions and controversies. While Rohit has been named skipper of the white-ball side, Kohli’s recent resignation from the post of Test captain has opened up a can of worms. Rahul is among the names in contention to become India’s full-time captain, but he needs to be perfect at a time when the country is under pressure to deliver across formats with a series of important tournaments coming up....

In a video shared on Twitter, fans were seen celebrating the legendary wicketkeeper’s contribution to the Indian cricket team. Locals could be seen waving the national flag, playing drums and other musical instruments alongside Dhoni’s banner on the road. It is worth mentioning that Dhoni is the only captain to win all three ICC tournaments. He has given Indians enough reason to celebrate by winning the T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011), and the Champions Trophy (2013)....

With Rohit Sharma unavailable for the ODI series against the Proteas, Rahul opened the batting with Shikhar Dhawan. Although India’s new full-time white-ball skipper is back for the series against the West Indies, Dhawan testing positive for COVID-19 has again opened up a spot at the top of the order. During a discussion on the Star Sports show Game Plan, Ajit Agarkar was asked about Rahul’s likely batting position in the ODI series against the Windies....

Dhawan, who was set to open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma, recently tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Ahmedabad. The left-hander is currently in mandatory isolation and is being monitored by the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) medical team. He is likely to miss the entire three-match series. Taking to Twitter, he recently thanked his fans for their wishes and support, saying: Mayank Agarwal was called in as Dhawan’s replacement, but the Punjab Kings opener is also in quarantine....

There has been a huge a clamour for holding of regular ‘A’ tours for the national cricket team to countries like Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand among others given our recent abysmal performances outside the sub-continent. The 4-0 drubbing at the hands of England and Australia in their own backyard are still fresh in the minds of a billion fans. The manner of capitulation caused much heartburn among the cricket buffs....

A rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, especially in the state of Victoria in Australia, has left the authorities concerned, and they’re now unsure about the traditional Boxing Day Test going ahead as scheduled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Australian state of Victoria had 75 new cases on Monday (June 29), and as a result, neighbouring state Queensland have closed their borders to ensure there is no threat of the virus spreading....

Grandmaster Koneru Humpy, Women Grandmasters Padmini Rout and Soumya Swaminathan won their respective matches at the Erdoba Elegance Hotel here Monday night. International Master Tania Sachdev was held by Women International Kubra Ozturk, who is 200 elo points behind the Indian. India won 3.5-0.5 against Turkey. In other matches, the top-seeded Chinese won 4-0 against South Africans. Ju Wenjun, Zhao Xue, Tan Zhongyi and Zhang Xiaowen made a clean sweep for China in the second round....

As the bombing continues in the urban centers of the country, people will flee their homes, becoming either internally displaced or leaving the country altogether, creating a refugee crisis along the borders of Turkey, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Assuming an American victory, the occupying power or new postwar government will be obligated to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqis who remain, as well as those who have escaped and want to return....