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The protocol, when your best batter first starts showing signs of struggle with his form, is that you don’t talk about it, lest you curse it into reality. Some would call it superstition, others, denial. But both Babar Azam and Pakistan are past that stage. They are where the elephant in the room has grown too big to be ignored. And even if they wish to look the other way, the pressing thoughts of a mega-event inching closer each day would not allow that. Babar last scored a century in August 2023, that too against Nepal in a home Asia…

National Stadium, Karachi has hosted nine ODI games since cricket’s return to Pakistan, as many as six of these were played between Pakistan and New Zealand. But none of these games had as many stakes involved as the upcoming Tri-series Final. In addition to deciding who gets crowned as the winner of this once-in-a-blue-moon ODI tri-series, the final will be a de-facto warm-up game between both sides, who will play the opening game of the Champions Trophy in about five days at the same venue.  New Zealand have come to the final unscathed. They defeated Pakistan and then followed it…

Successfully defending a low score is a classic cricket trope. One that never fails to smash the box office. When nothing else seems to be working, a low-scoring thriller always does. Sri Lanka were reeling at 55-5 at one point in the game but from there the skipper Charith Asalanka dragged his side back to the game inch by inch. At innings break, 214 runs seemed far from a decent total, but on a pitch offering swing and seam so generously that was the best the visitors could manage. From there, the hosts’ best bet was to punch above their…

Both teams have lost their share of one game, which is why this game is some sort of a virtual semi-final. Whoever wins this, plays New Zealand in the final on Saturday and also gets an extra game before the Champions Trophy begins next week. Luckily, for both South Africa and Pakistan, they played each other just a few weeks ago in the same format. But the visitors would not want to recall that. And rightly so, Pakistan handed them a one-for-the-ages whitewash in their backyard. The Proteas would not want anything resembling that series being repeated here.  In South…

What went wrong for England? They have only managed to win one game so far on this tour, and much of it comes down to some flaws that have persisted within the side for a long time. For one, England’s bowling woes have haunted them. In the first two one day games, English bowlers could not get past dismissing six Indian batters. To be specific, the side’s lack of spin resources has also hurt them throughout this white-ball tour. India’s spinners took five and four wickets, respectively, in both games, while England’s limited spin options could not do much damage.…

Steve Smith’s surrogate captaincy stint will survive for at least a few more weeks, as confirmed by Australia’s final squad announcement for the upcoming Champions Trophy. The team will be without the likes of Mitchell Starc (personal reasons), Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Marsh (injuries), as well as Marcus Stoinis, who recently retired. These absences have forced Australia to make plenty of changes to their lineup. This means that these two ODIs against Sri Lanka will play an immense role in helping this patchwork Australian team gel into as much of a cohesive unit as possible before the eight-team tournament begins…

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…