Author: Mishaal Mubarak

Like many other teams, New Zealand and South Africa last played each other in the ODI World Cup in India. South Africa dismantled New Zealand ruthlessly in Pune in that game. But this time, something about the Kiwis’ performance, especially in the first game against the host Pakistan, tells that they are hardly ready to endure the same drubbing again. The conditions in Lahore seemed tailor-made for New Zealand the other day. And though they will face South Africa in a day game, this should do no damage to the way they have responded to the conditions.  South Africa are…

India have got a headache. Of a good kind, though. But it’s still a headache. Who do they leave out from the side that defeated England with four wickets to spare a couple of days ago? Although the first question should be ‘Why do they need to leave anyone out?’. The simple answer is; to accommodate Virat Kohli, who missed the first ODI with an injured knee. He is all fit and firing now, but is he firing enough to replace Shubman Gill, who thrashed 87 runs in the opening ODI? Or Shreyas Iyer, whose fierce batting helped India wrap…

India played in the recent ODI World Cup final. Since then they have largely been absent from the format. That should not shock anyone, the ODI format is, after all, cricket’s middle child. But even for a forgotten format, six games in more than 15 months of cricket is a tad concerning. No team, full-member or otherwise, has played fewer ODI games than India in this duration. Add three one-day games from this series, and India will have played only 9 games between the World Cup and the Champions Trophy later this month.  In a world of entirely different problems…

What’s worse than getting hit for a 600-plus target in the first innings of a Test? Following it up with an even shambolic batting display. It would be delusional to say that Sri Lanka had to endure the drubbing they did in the first game because the Aussies caught them off guard, capitalized on the opportunity, and pushed them deeper into the turf. In reality, the hosts consistently missed their chances throughout the game and eventually reached a point of no return. Many of these chances were lost too close together, without any breather for recovery.  Australia, on the other…

England had to endure a one-for-ages chastening at the hands of the Indian team in the five-match T20I series. What’s worse is that this drubbing came after a seemingly overhaul of their white-ball setup. However, the English skipper is not ready to let go of their aggressive game strategy.  After failing to chase the ginormous 247 run target set by India in the final T20I, Buttler acknowledged that in such high-scoring games its always all-or-nothing.  “I’ve played in a few games like this. You either get somewhere near, or you fall in a heap, and today was that day. It…

Not long ago, India were crowned as the world champions in the shortest format of cricket. Their campaign was flawless, making the team very deserving of the victory. But even amidst those celebrations, there was a sobering reality check for the team and its fans. One which became further pronounced when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirement, leaving India’s future in the hands of a younger generation.  As is often the case with teams in transition, many expected India to struggle for stability. Yet, much to everyone’s surprise, that has not been the case with this team, which…

A week ago, Matthew Kuhnemann did not even know whether he would get a ticket to board the flight to Sri Lanka. His thumb injury, albeit on his non-bowling hand, required immediate surgery just two weeks before the first Test. The fact that he had not played any international game in the past year did not help his case either. But when Steve Smith announced the lineup, the legspinner’s name was there. It would be false to say no one expected Kuhnemann to do what he did, the way he did in Galle. Similar to how Smith puts it, the…

Steve Smith returned to captaining the side after a long time. One Test game in, and he has already made sure no one would forget it anytime soon. Galle is not the place you go to tick milestones as a visiting team, but Australia were too ecstatic to care about that. Especially after what they did in the first innings, scripting a ginormous 652-run total and following it up with bundling the visitors for just 165 runs. In hindsight, Australia’s decision to field three frontline spinners and just a sole pacer paid off, Smith thinks so too.  “I thought all…

Sri Lanka’s head coach, Sanath Jayasuriya, blames the team’s batting issues for the massive inning-and-242-run defeat against Australia in the Galle Test. Australia scored a whopping 654 runs in the first innings before declaring. Following this onslaught, they bundled Sri Lanka for a combined total of 412 in both innings.  Jayasuriya said the players’ inability to grasp the situation well after Australia posted the gigantic total instead of how the wicket play was what became the reason behind the defeat “There was a serious problem with shot selections, as well as with handling situations. I don’t think certain players have…

Jos Buttler, Brendon McCullum, and their men landed in India, hoping to unleash a Bazball-like something. The last two World Cup campaigns were removed from their memories with a combined effort of time and some pep talks by McCullum. The old captain was saved. A new coach was hired. England were on their way to start everything anew in India.  But all of a sudden, it’s all back to square one for the visitors. There is one game left, of course, in Mumbai, of all the venues. Buttler must not have forgotten much about the last time his team played…