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Pakistan had every reason to mess up the chase in the first ODI at Boland Park. Teams batting second don’t usually find it easy to get home at the venue. Add to this the ominous signs of the deck getting lower by the end of South Africa’s batting. Pakistan’s slow start did not make it any better. But what’s the thing about all automatically becoming well when the ending is as per your liking?  It would be unfair to pin all the credit on the team’s juju. Pakistan won the first game all credit to their temperament, something that gets…

Bangladesh had no business winning the series opener. The hosts needed only 18 off the last two overs. This is not a big ask in fast-paced cricket nowadays. Wham! Bang! Thud! Boom! and here you have the runs scored. But Bangladesh were not in the mood to endure that kind of beating in Kingstown. They had enough of Rovman Powell hitting sixes for fun, and so they retaliated in a way that turned the game on its head. Hasan Mahmed took two scalps in the last over to finish the game in his team’s favor before even the balls ended,…

Pakistan has 99 problems, but dominating the 50-over format is not one of them. Despite many things going downward for the team currently, they can vouch for their favorite format to bring them some good luck. And they would be needing the good luck anyway. This ODI series is one of their last preparations for the Champions Trophy, a tournament they are not only hosting but also playing as the title defenders.  In contrast, South Africa are not in an as much of a comfortable position. Their most recent ODI game came against Ireland, where the Proteas lost the game,…

West Indies are having the time of their lives in the fifty-over format. In their last nine ODI fixtures, the Windies have won six games, and mind you these wins were not only comprehensive, but they also came against oppositions like England, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. A dampener for all this glory would be the fact that they will miss the upcoming ODI multi-nation event, the Champions Trophy. However, that does (and can) not take the spotlight away from their brilliance in the format lately.  They have a T20I series coming up against Bangladesh, and while their nearest T20I mega-event…

‘Tis the season when the franchise leagues start rolling out one by one, and this year, the Big Bash League will hit the ground running for the franchise leagues. The 14th season of the BBL will kick off on December 15 and run until the last days of January. The eight-team tournament was cut short after many criticized the tourney as too long. This edition will last for 40 group stage games, with each side playing ten games, followed by four knock-out matches including the Final. Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars will play the opening game at the Optus Stadium,…

For the sake of discussion, let’s assume the 4th Test during the 2021 BGT did not take place. India remained adamant about their boycott stance and the fourth game was scrapped altogether or perhaps shifted to another venue. The butterfly effect related to that game would have been entirely different today. Training in Brisbane for the third Test game of a 1-1 squared series, India would have been more worried than injuries and controversies made them in the 2021 tour.  But that India breached the Gabbatoir in the most incredible ways means that despite knowing they have plenty to work…

Winning the second Test game, England became only the second team to disrupt the Kiwis’ immaculate home record since 2017. The first team was, of course, Australia earlier this year when they defeated New Zealand 2-0. This, if anything, is evidence of the shift in New Zealand cricket. And in the last Test game of the series, this shift will become a little too real when Tim Southee, one of the people who made the Kiwis an impregnable side, walks out to play a Test game for the last time.  Realistically and mathematically, New Zealand are out of contention for…

None of the South African batters barring David Miller and George Linde could get past 15 runs in the first T20I game and that made all the difference in the world. Miller who scored 82 runs off 40 balls first denied Pakistan the opportunity to cherish their early inroads and after him, Linde did the same. By the end of the first innings, Pakistan had a target of 184 to gun down. That their best batter, Babar Azam, departed for a duck did not make this any better but Saim Ayub’s quick-fire innings showed Pakistan a somewhat turbulent hope which…

It really is the best of times and the worst of times for South Africa. In Tests, they are at the top of the WTC table and just need a single win to finalize a place in their first-ever WTC final. While this surely is nerve-wracking for them, what’s more, is that an ODI tournament is lingering close, and the team has only two build-up series for it. The first will be a home series versus Pakistan, while the other will be a tri-series in Pakistan.  But their worries don’t end here. Out of these two series, the Proteas will…

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters can not remain silent for long. Just when one thinks the board is sailing toward stability, an even bigger bombshell drops. The latest of these concerns is the PCB hitting an all-time low relationship with the red-ball head coach, Jason Gillespie. Gillespie, who was hired to coach Pakistan’s red-ball side in April this year on a two-year contract, will reportedly not join Shan Masood’s men for the two-match red-ball tour in South Africa later this month.  This development comes following the PCB’s refusal to renew Gillespie’s assistant coach, Time Nielsen’s contract. Nielsen was appointed…