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 Jonny Bairstow When a team chases a down a massive target of 337 runs with plenty of overs to spare you can only watch wonder-struck at the sensational batting display that has to be the cause of it and cannot really blame the rival team. England have done this tonight, overcoming the Indian target that looked quite formidable very easily at the end thanks to the spectacular batting performances of all the top three: Jason Roy notching up 55 off 52 balls falling to a terrible run-out; Jonny Bairstow registering a magnificent ton of 124 off just 112 balls; and most importantly, Ben Stokes scoring an incredible 99 in just 52 balls, getting out caught 1 run away from what could have been a memorable century. There were 24 fours and unbelievable 20 sixes (10 of those go to Stokes) in their victorious innings. At one stage of the game they were scoring almost 20 runs an over with Bairstow and Stokes firing all cylinders in their partnership of 175 runs. So then, England won the second one-

  India have not learnt any lesson from the first match in terms of improving body language, intensity on the field and the basic will to win, despite the second one-day international being the decisive one in the 3-match Dettol ODI Series. The team management reposed full faith on them by fielding the same team, not even replacing anyone in the bowling line-up, prominently Chahal and Saini. To make matters worse Virat Kohli lost the toss again, offering the platter one more time to the hosts to make hay. And they did exactly that.   The Warner-Finch opener-duo who posted another 100-plus run partnership and later Steve Smith who notched up his second consecutive century continued to prove to be India’s nemesis. A target of 350+ runs was to be set for India yet again (the average first-innings score being 319 at the SCG for the last five years). The Indian bowlers did nothing better than in the first match: Saini continued to be the most expensive; Bumrah ineffectual as earlier; Sh

  Photo: espncricinfo.com Before coming to the match, we must mention the most heartening thing about cricket new normal: for the first time in 8 months crowds were allowed at the Sydney Cricket Ground, of course, up to 50% of the stadium’s capacity. However, some of stands were seen to be packed to the brim, and in general, masks were not being worn nor social distancing kept. It is not clear how the bio-bubble is going to help in this crowded environment. We hope this does not translate into an indiscretion as far as the pandemic spread is concerned as crowds ranging from 50 to 65 capacities are going to be allowed for all the remaining matches of the India Tour of Australia-2020-21 including the Tests.   Australia have beaten India by 66 runs in the first one-day international match of the three-match Dettol ODI Series in Sydney today, giving the long-missed home crowds much to cheer. The moment the Aussies put up a mammoth target of 375 runs before India many cynics might have

  Photo: rediff.com India started their tour of Australia in 2018-19 too from November 2018 to January 2019, and created history by becoming first Asian cricket team to beat Australia in a Test Series in Australia. They also became only the second team of the world to beat Australia in Australia in both the formats of ODI and Test. The first test of that series too started in Adelaide in December and in that cracker of a match India won by 31 runs, one of their slenderest of victory margins. Australia won the second test in Perth by 146 runs, and India sealed the series 2-1 by winning the third test in Melbourne by 137 runs with the last match ending in a draw in Sydney. Then they went on to win the ODI Series 2-1 too. Under Australia’s split captaincy regime for different formats Aussie wicket keeper Tim Paine was the captain in the Test series and Aaron Finch captained the Aussies in the ODI and T201 formats, and they met Virat Kohli as the all-format Indian skipper. The rivalry rema

Photo: deccanchronicle.com The all-India cricket selection committee of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has yesterday finalized the Indian squads for the India Tour of Australia 2020-21 to be played from end of next month under new normal rules due to the pandemic. Three squads for the T20Is, ODIs and Tests have been announced with some significant changes of players/specialists. Rishabh Pant, who is reportedly unfit due to weight issues, has been left out of the shorter formats and included in the Test squad as the second wicket-keeper. This is despite he being the hype of the millennium when he was not selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup-2019, initially, and the Board eventually forced to select him due to Shikhar Dhawan’s injury, but largely due to the pressures created by the Pant fans on social media, the mainstream media hooting for him even with editorials and a range of cricket experts and ex-players crying for his inclusion. However, it proved to be a damp

Whenever we get to watch cricket of the highest order involving star national and international players we tend to forget about the format of the game and in which ‘type’ it is being played, international Tests or ODIs or T20Is or commercial league T20 matches, and we consider and cherish such games as treats. This exactly has been the case in all of the four matches of the Indian Premier League-2020 (IPL 2020) played over the weekend, that is on Saturday and Sunday, 17-18 October 2020 in UAE, each of the four matches being a humdinger down the wire, and several national and international cricketers displaying tremendous competitive spirit and superlative cricket.   Photo: espncricinfo.com The first game on Saturday was played between RCB and RR in Dubai. RR set a competitive target of 178, and RCB started the chase on a pitch slowing down and found shot-making increasingly difficult. They needed 76 runs off the last 41 balls when Virat Kohli departed for 43 runs off 32 balls, an