Author: Trisha Ghosal

It was a day of jubilation for England as they asserted their dominance in the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval, ending the third day with a commanding lead of 377 runs. The England camp were all smiles as their star bowlers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, walked off the field to a well-deserved standing ovation, with bats in hand. England’s performance was nothing short of spectacular throughout the day, with the exception of a late wobble where they lost five wickets for 47 runs in the final hour of play. England Openers stick to the “Bazball” approach…

Harmanpreet Kaur, the India Women’s team captain, has been suspended for two international games for her actions and reactions during the third and final ODI of the Bangladesh series. The series was a dampener in a number of ways, from the broadcast-stream quality to poor umpiring to India’s lacklustre performance with both bat and ball. If the way India played wasn’t enough to hurt an Indian fan, then the captain’s misbehaviour surely added whatever was left. Being passionate and aggressive doesn’t give you the licence to lose your mind completely and act like a hooligan in any match, leave alone…

Australia came into this game with a 6-0 points lead in this multi-format Ashes, and had they won it, they would have moved to 8, enough to retain the Ashes yet again. But thanks to some superb batting from Danni Wyatt and Sarah Glenn, and Sophie Ecclestone’s all-round display, England held on for a dramatic three-run win that put them on the board in the series. Asked to bat first, England finished with 186-9 from their quota of 20 overs. Despite a late flurry of shots from Ellyse Perry, Australia fell just short. Danni Wyatt’s scintillating half-century Wyatt, the England…

Over 51.6, Bairstow ducks to a short ball and like he did for some other deliveries, just stroked his backfoot across and ambled out of the crease. Australia Wicketkeeper Alex Carey must have noticed that he was doing it every ball and threw the ball back at the stumps. Carey did it quietly and just as the ball hit the wicket he appealed for a run out. According to the laws of cricket, Australians did the correct thing and got Bairstow’s wicket. The English crowd started booing them immediately and the England players weren’t impressed either. What I found interesting…

Australia bagged two points and is now sitting happily with 6 points in this multi-format Ashes series. If they win the 2nd T20I, then they will remain unbeaten yet again in the Ashes series. Opting to bowl first, Australia kept England on a tight leash. Some unlikely fielding lapses from the Aussies and a blistering knock from Amy Jones took England to a respectable total of 153 which looked a few runs short on this pitch. Australia, in response, lost their skipper Alyssa Healy early on in the innings, and it was again the experienced campaigner Beth Mooney who stepped…

16 years, 205 days – rings a bell? That was Sachin Tendulkar’s age when he made his international debut in a Test match in Karachi in 1989, and what he did for the game after that is there for everyone to see. Almost a decade later, on June 26, 1999, at the age of 16 years and 205 days, another legend made her debut – Mithali Raj against Ireland Women. Opening the innings in her debut match, Mithali scored a century. After that, she was India’s most dependable run-machine for the next two decades. On the 24th anniversary of her…

Australia won the one-off Women’s Ashes Test by 89 runs to bag four points in this multi-format series. The result probably wasn’t surprising if you follow women’s cricket. The margin of victory might make one think that Australia dominated the Test match, but that’s far from the truth. In fact, England were the favourites when Australians started to crumble in their second innings. Let’s take a look at what separated the two teams in this Test. Lower-Order Batting The Australian No. 8, 9, 10 and 11 batters scored a total of 244 runs across both innings, which included a century…

Women’s cricket fans would be delighted that this one-off Ashes Test is a five-day affair. The game is beautifully poised going into the final day, and though Australia seem to be in an advantageous position, one good partnership could change things very quickly. Australia started the penultimate day on 92 for no loss, and were bowled out for 257. England, needing 268 to win, had reached 116-5 wickets by stumps. Australia will begin the final day needing five wickets, while England need 152 more runs. Sophie Ecclestone shines again Ecclestone got another five-for in the second innings to prevent the…

England ended Day 2 on 218-2, with Tammy Beaumont not out on 100 and Nat Sciver-Brunt on 41*. They still trail Australia by 255 runs. Annabel Sutherland scores her first Test century Sutherland looked in superb touch on the first evening, and she came out to bat on Friday with that confidence. Sutherland mixed caution with aggression and reached her first Test century. Her 137 not out took Australia to a commanding position in their first innings. Sutherland showed a lot of maturity in the way she batted with the lower order. She reached her century in 148…

The much-anticipated Women’s Ashes series is up and running. Having won the toss, Alyssa Healy, Australia’s captain, had no doubt that they wanted to bat first. And her decision was vindicated as Australia finished day one on 328-7. Exceptional Perry at work again Australians came into the contest without Meg Lanning, their regular captain and prolific batter. Under such circumstances, the onus was on the experienced Ellyse Perry to come up with a good performance. Perry hardly ever disappoints, and today was no different. Playing in a record tenth Women’s Ashes series, Perry scored a crucial 99 to put her…