Author: Mishaal Mubarak

How often do you see a third match after a 1-1 not being the decider? Or a four-match T20I series? And how often do you fly to South Africa only to find the ball turning off the pitch instead of rocketing up to meet the batter’s helmet? Not very often, eh? We figured that. But so have India and South Africa. The way this series has behaved has been very unnatural but with the teams returning to the old and revered centurion ground, they might start going back to normal.  Team Overview: The only difference between India’s batting lineup in…

Quick question. A paradox, even. Would you want to be with the team on a winning streak just a hundred days before a mega-event it’s not participating in or a team that has yet to start preparing for the said event but has a first-class ticket for it? That’s a tough one to answer, irrelevant in fact. But so is the ODI format, which gets the kiss of life right before every tournament only to be dumped again. New Zealand last played an ODI game in December 2023. And as much as it sounds untrue, they are not the only…

After months of silence from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding India’s travel plans for the Champions Trophy, there have been swift developments about the decision in the past few days. On Friday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that BCCI has formally refused to send its team to Pakistan for the upcoming eight-team mega-event. As per the ICC, the Indian government denied the BCCI permission to travel. As an alternative, the BCCI has suggested a hybrid model for the tournament, with India’s matches arranged at a neutral venue, preferably the…

The series stands at 1-1, and both teams have rightly earned their victories. Afghanistan exploited their spin resources in the first game and choreographed a collapse so incredible that it wrapped up the game within a matter of a few overs after the disaster struck. Bangladesh bested the odds and kept the series alive by bagging the second game. By doing so, they ended their seven-match losing streak. The visitors have hardly had a day without drama in the past few months. The off-field issues have been abundant in Bangladesh cricket. The newest of them and perhaps the least problematic…

If West Indies believed they had posted a defendable total at Bridgetown in the first T20I, they were utterly mistaken. And so they were proved when English batters came out all guns blazing, to make easy work of their 183-run target, which looked a little more than a warm-up exercise for them. But long before the English batters, especially Phil Salt, put their brilliance on the show, their spinners had laid the groundwork for the dominance. Sharing nine wickets between them, they kept on stopping the Windies batter from setting their feet. Try as they might, none of the host…

Will Sri Lanka’s spin threat get New Zealand out of the series? Despite going 1-0 up in the series, Sri Lanka have no time to waste. New Zealand nearly just missed out on the opportunity to turn the game in their favour. With a more settled Dambulla track, the difference between both sides’ forte might not be as contrasting as it was in the opening game.  Team Overview: New Zealand were taken off-guard by the turn Dambulla offered in the first game. The ball started turning significantly from the first ball and made life difficult for the Kiwis. Three wickets…

A new Indian generation of cricketers ready to write the lore If India keep going on the way they are, they will fill the voids left by the departed big guys sooner than they think. One of the protagonists of this transition for India has been Suryakumar Yadav. In the T20 World Cup final which India had no business winning against South Africa, Suryakumar took that blinder which brought two joys for India. Number one; the World Cup fell right into their lap. Number two; it testified for SKY as the worthy successor of the team. Currently, the men in…

Pakistan go classic Pakistan but how long can they continue? Not many had foreseen Pakistan playing the way did down under. Yes, they stomped over England in the Test series at home but defeating Australia in Australia has never been Pakistan’s strongest suit. In fact, it has been anything but that. That Pakistan last won an ODI series in Australia in 2002 is enough evidence to accept why the above statement is true. But this time it does not seem as impossible. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy coming up in less than a fortnight, many key Aussie players will not play…

West Indies had a very realistic chance of making it into the knockout round of this T20 World Cup. In addition to the home advantage, the team as a whole had the look of a side that had things firmly in their hands. But then they met England in a Super Eights game, only to be handed an eight-wicket defeat. This was the hosts’ first defeat in the World Cup, and boy did it shatter everything they had built till then.  This is the first time both teams will meet after that game in St. Lucia. Loads have changed since…

A series of contrasting events for both teams Asia has been a home away from home for the Kiwis since the T20 World Cup ended in June. Their stay in the continent can be divided into two contrasting parts. The first part being where victory or any hint of joy for that matter, remained elusive as they scratched their heads in the face of both controllable and uncontrollable challenges. The second part, however, made up for the shoddy reception earlier by letting the Black Caps experience a victory so rare that no one before them had savored it. They now…