BY SACNILK

The highly anticipated and awaited cricket series of the year 2020 is all set to begin on November 27. Cricket's one of the biggest rivalries will begin with ODIs followed by T20Is and Tests when India will tour Australia for 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is, and 4 Tests. ## SCG will host the first two ODIs (November 27 and 29) before the teams move to Canberra for the third and final ODI (December 2). The first T20I will also be played at the Manuka Oval in Canberra (December 4), following which the teams will return to SCG for the final two T20Is (December 6 and 8). ## After completing the white-ball leg, the prestigious Border-Gavaskar 4-match test series will kick-start on December 17 with a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval. Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26-30), Sydney Cricket Ground (January 7-11), and Gabba, Brisbane (January 15-19) will host the next three Tests.## While most of the matches will be played without the crowd due to the covid-19 pandemic, a cap of approximately 25,000 spectators - which is one-fourth of the total capacity of the Melbourne Cricket Ground - has been kept for the Boxing Day Test to be played between Australia and India this year amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.## This comes after the proposal to have crowds was green-lit by the head of the government in Victoria, which had emerged as the epicenter of the second wave of COVID-19 infections in Australia. The Victorian government, Melbourne Cricket Club, and Cricket Australia will develop a "COVIDSafe plan" to enable crowds to safely attend the Test match.## "Under our new COVIDSafe protocols, we're working closely with the Victorian government and Cricket Australia to host this year's Boxing Day Test at the MCG", said MCC Chief Executive Stuart Fox.## "The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is one of the prestigious trophies in Test cricket, and it'll be fascinating to see the contest between Justin (Langer) and Tim (Paine)'s men against a very talented Indian side," Cricket Australia's Chair Earl Eddings said.## India is the defending champions of the Border-Gavaskar trophy when the Virat Kohli-led side defeated Australia by 2-1 to become the first Asian side to win a test series in Australia in 2018-19. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

It has been a forgettable season of the Indian Premier League for one of the most successful franchises and three-times champions, Chennai Super Kings who, for the first time have failed to qualify for the playoffs in their 11 years of IPL history. ## A lot of questions have been raised over the team's future and even on Dhoni – whose own performance has been below par as per his own standards in UAE. However, despite the poor performance of the team and MS Dhoni, the faith of the franchise in the captain cool continues to rise. ## CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said that one bad season does not make this team look bad. He also hopes that Dhoni will continue to lead CSK in 2021 as well. ## "Yes, definitely. I am very confident that Dhoni will lead CSK in 2021. He has won three titles for us in the IPL. This is the first year we have not qualified for the playoffs. No other team has done that. One bad year does not mean we will have to change everything", Viswanathan told The Times of India.## Ahead of the tournament, two of their key players, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh pulled out of the 13th edition due to personal reasons and CSK CEO believes that the withdrawals of these two players have upset the balance of the team. ## "We didn't play to our potential this season. We lost games that we should have won. That pushed us back. The withdrawals of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh coupled with Covid cases in the camp meant that the balance of the side was upset", Viswanathan added.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mandeep Singh has been going through a roller coaster of emotions in the past week, with the sad demise of his father a couple of days back. However, despite that personal tragedy and with heavy heart, the 28-year old talented cricketer from Punjab choose to stay with the franchise, Kings XI Punjab and help them to advance in the Indian Premier League 2020. ## Unfazed by the things happening around his personal life, Mandeep has braved himself to perform for KXIP on it, scoring a match-winning unbeaten 66 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, October 26 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. His knock came at a crucial stage of the tournament in which, KXIP is well and truly alive to qualify for the playoffs. ## "This was very special. My father always used to tell me to remain not out in every game, definitely special", said Mandeep Singh in a post-match interview and dedicated his half-century to his late father. "He always used to tell me, whether you score 100 or 200, you should be not out", he added. ## "I had a talk with Rahul before the start of the game. Last game I was trying to score quicker and I wasn't comfortable doing that. I told Rahul if I play my normal game, I will win the game and I had the belief", revealed Mandeep on that chase. ## "He (Rahul) told me to back my game and play the way I want to play, pretty happy with the win. He (Gayle) was just telling me to keep batting and play till the end and I just told him that he should never retire. He is too good. We are very excited", Mandeep added. ## Mandy paaji looks up, a tribute to his father 🙌WHAT. A. KNOCK. 👏#SaddaPunjab #IPL2020 #KXIP #KKRvKXIP pic.twitter.com/QcZYvCkBcm— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) October 26, 2020 ## Mandeep's special knock was appreciated by the rest of his teammates as well, with coach Anil Kumble and captain KL Rahul coming out to congratulate him for his fifty as well during the strategic timeout of the game against KKR.## "The kind of toughness Mandeep has shown has rubbed on to other ways. Everybody is emotional. Just to put his hand up, just to be there, just to finish off the game, makes us so proud", remarked Rahul in the post-match interview, speaking in praise of Mandeep. ## Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab, after an easy win over KKR has opened up the tournament once again. With 12 points in 12 matches, the KL Rahul led side is at number 4 in the points table. Though KKR has also 12 points Punjab is marginally ahead in the Net Run Rate which could be the deciding factor at the end of the league stage. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Monday (October 26) have announced the team India's squads for the Tests, ODIs, and T20Is for the Australia tour. The regular vice-captain in white-ball cricket, Rohit Sharma hasn't been named in any of the squads due to the injury along with Ishant Sharma. ## The Senior Selection Committee headed by Sunil Joshi have named 28 players that'll feature across the three formats in Australia. Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma's progress, a BCCI media release states, will continue to be monitored by a medical team.## KL Rahul has been named in India's Test squad for the forthcoming four-Test Border-Gavaskar series against Australia at the end of the year. Rahul is joined by fellow Test returnee Kuldeep Yadav while seamer Mohammed Siraj gets a call-up in an 18-member Test squad.## India is going with full packed pace attack in Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah along with Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj. BCCI has also announced that 4 additional bowlers - Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel, and T. Natarajan - will travel with the Indian contingent.## NEWS - Four additional bowlers - Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T. Natarajan - will travel with the Indian contingent.The BCCI Medical Team will continue to monitor the progress of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma. #AUSvIND— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2020 ## Test Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj. ## Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who limped out of IPL 2020 with a leg injury, will not be part of the traveling contingent to Australia. The swing bowler, who has been beset by injury problems since the start of 2018, had been named in the 50-over squad for the series against South Africa which was eventually called off due to the Coronavirus pandemic.## Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw have been axed from the ODI squad after their poor run in the ongoing IPL. They have also been removed from the T20I squad as well. KL Rahul will be Virat Kohli's deputy in ODIs and T2OIs. ## ODI Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vc&wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.## Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy who has been impressive in the IPL 2020 has received his maiden India call-up for the three T20Is. The Tamil Nadu player picked up a five-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals on Saturday and has overall taken 12 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.05. He replaces Kuldeep Yadav as the fourth spinner in the 16-man squad.## Rohit Sharma's absence has also given Mayank Agarwal a spot in the shortest format for the very first time. The 29-year-old opener has lit up the IPL this season scoring almost 400 runs in the 10 games he has played so far with a hundred. Hardik Pandya also returns for the limited-overs series. ## T20I Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (VC & WK), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy. ## India will start their tour on November 27 with three T20Is, followed by three ODIs and four Tests later on. India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia when they toured down under in 2018-19 and now, will have a chance to retain the Border-Gavaskar series. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the playoffs dates of the Indian Premier League 2020. Dubai will host the final of the tournament on the 10th of November as well as serve as the venue for Qualifier 1 between the top two sides at the end of the league stage, on November 5. ## The Eliminator and Qualifier 2 will be held on November 6 and 8 respectively, in Abu Dhabi. All games will start at 19:30 [7:30 PM] IST.## IPL Playoffs Schedule -## Qualifier 1 - Team 1 vs Team 2, Dubai, on November 5 ## Eliminator - Team 3 vs Team 4, Abu Dhabi, on November 6## Qualifier 2 - Winner of Eliminator vs Loser of Qualifier 1, Abu Dhabi, on November 8## Final - Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Qualifier 2, Dubai, on November 10## Sharjah to host Women's T20 Challenge - Sharjah has been picked as the only venue to host the Women's T20 Challenge which will be played between November 4 and 9. The three teams --- Velocity, Supernovas, and Trailblazers led by Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Smriti Mandhana respectively, will play a game against each other on November 4, 5, and 7, and the top two teams will qualify for the final.## All the matches except the second match between Velocity and Trailblazers will begin at 7:30 PM IST. Match 2, which will be played on November 5, will be an afternoon match starting at 15:30 [3:30 PM] IST. ## The 2020 Women's T20 Challenge will begin with last year's finalist Supernovas taking on Velocity in the opening game. The complete schedule is as below.## Match 1: Supernovas vs Velocity, Sharjah, on November 4 at 19:30 IST## Match 2: Velocity vs Trailblazers, Sharjah, on November 5 at 15:30 IST## Match 3: Trailblazers vs Supernovas, Sharjah, on November 7 at 19:30 IST## Final: Team 1 vs Team 2, Sharjah, on November 9 at 19:30 IST## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

England Test captain Joe Root has admitted that he wasn't sure about putting himself in the elite modern-day cricket's "fab four" club with Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith. Instead, he accepted he could learn from all three of them.## While Root is sometimes referred to as one of the "big four" batsmen in contemporary international cricket, he believes that Virat Kohli is "probably the most complete batsman" out of the three (Virat, Smith, Kane) of them across formats. ## "I try not to measure myself against other players," Root said to ESPNcricinfo. "But I do watch a lot of how they go about constructing different types of innings across the three formats. You're looking at three of the greatest players the game has seen. They're three brilliant people to watch play and learn from. I'm not sure I'd put myself in their bracket, to be honest".## "I look at how late Kane plays the ball, how still and correct he is. How, under pressure, he finds a way to trust his defense on any given surface. That's a great quality to have", he said.## "You look at Smith and at times he's just awful to watch. It's horrible on the eye. But you'd pay to have him in your team. He's a fantastic run-scorer. The way he thinks about the game and manages passages of play is exceptional. He makes bowlers bowl where he wants them to and his self-confidence you can see by the way he leaves the ball and some of his idiosyncrasies. He's always trying to find a way to get on top of the opposition. His hunger for big, big scores is fantastic", he added. ## England's red-ball skipper hails Virat Kohli who boasts an extraordinary record in all three formats, averaging 54 in Tests, 59 in ODIs, and 51 in T20Is. There are Smith and Williamson as modern-day great but Root rates the Indian skipper as the best of the lot. ## "Virat is probably the most complete player out of the three of them across formats. His ability to chase things down in the limited-overs format and to pace it as well as he does as often as he does and be not out at the end is extraordinary. He's got a very good all-round game but you wouldn't say he's weaker against spin or pace.## "He obviously struggled on his first tour to England, but he scored really heavily when he came back. And similarly, elsewhere in the world, he's put in massive performances. All that with the weight of India on his shoulders, as well", the 29-year old added. ## Joe Root's numbers, on the other hand, are impressive in the Test and ODI formats, averaging 48 and 50 respectively, but he has always been criticized for his lack of ability to convert the fifties into hundreds. He has crossed 50+ scores on 66 occasions but could only convert them into 100 only on 17 times which is far less as compared to Virat, Smith, and Kane. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

It has been a disappointing season of the Indian Premier League 2020 for the three-time champions, Chennai Super Kings who, for the first time on the verge of not qualifying for the playoffs in 13 years. A massive 10-wickets defeat by Mumbai Indians made sure CSK's IPL 2020 season become bad to worst.## Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of one of the most successful franchises, CSK stressed out again on the process but said that the players as a team haven't played to their "potential" this season. Amid the disappointment, the skipper is hopeful that the team will put their last stand. ## "Well, it does hurt. What you need to see is what is going wrong, this year hasn't been our year. In only one or two games this year we have batted and bowled well together. Whether you lose by ten wickets or eight wickets it hardly matters. All the players are hurting, but they are trying their best. It doesn't always go your way. Hopefully, in the next three games, we'll try to put our last stand", Dhoni said in the post-match presentation. ## First-time #CSK loses by 10 wickets in their IPL history. First-time #CSK fails to reach the playoffs as well. #IPL2020 | #CSKvsMI | #MIvCSK | #CSK— Sacnilk Sports (@SacnilkSports) October 23, 2020 ## "Whenever we did not get off to a good start it kept getting difficult for the middle order. In cricket when you are going through a tough phase, you need a bit of luck to go your way. But in this tournament, it hasn't really gone our way. We haven't really won the toss, when we are batting second there hasn't been a lot of dew and when we are batting first all of a sudden there is a lot of dew on the field. So it hasn't gone our way and those are the things you study", he added.## "Whenever you aren't doing well there can be a hundred reasons. One of the main things you ask yourself is whether you are playing to your potential. When you put out a playing eleven and judge whether they have done well to justify their stats on paper on the field, I feel this year we have not done that", he continued. ## While the ongoing season has been done and dusted for CSK (for their playoffs hopes), Dhoni said that the remaining games will all be about the preparation for the next year to identify the batsmen, the bowler who can bowl at the death. ## Meanwhile, CSK is in the last spot in the points table with just 6 points in 11 matches. They have already lost 8 matches which is their worst performance in the history of the IPL. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians, after an easy win moves up the top spot with 14 points in 10 matches and just a win away from the confirmed qualification for the playoffs. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The former India captain and legendary all-rounder, Kapil Dev suffered a mild heart attack on Friday (October 23) before undergoing angioplasty at a hospital in New Delhi. Kapil, 61, is stable after the successful procedure, according to India Today.## Kapil Dev's 1983 World Cup-winning India teammate Madan Lal said the former captain was taken to the hospital in time after he complained of uneasiness. Kapil had complained of uneasiness last night, following which he was taken to Escorts hospital where he underwent some tests. Stents have been placed and he is fine as of now.## "Please join me in sending prayers, strength, and good wishes to Kapil and Romi Dev for his speedy recovery. Kapil was taken to the hospital in time as he complained of uneasiness. As per the doctors, the procedure has been successful and he will be home soon", Madan Lal said in a social media post.## Please join me in sending prayers, strength and good wishes to Kapil and Romi Dev for his speedy recovery. Kapil was taken to the hospital in time as he complained of uneasiness. As per the doctors the procedure has been successful and he will be home soon. @vikrantgupta73— Madan Lal (@MadanLal1983) October 23, 2020 ## Wishes for speedy recovery poured in from the sporting fraternity with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, current Indian captain Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Saina Nehwal, and others sent out their messages to the cricket great on social media. ## Take care @therealkapildev! Praying for your quick recovery. Get well soon Paaji. 🙏🏼— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 23, 2020 ## Praying for your speedy recovery. 🙏🏻 Get well soon paaji. @therealkapildev— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 23, 2020 ## According to India Today, Kapil Dev is expected to return home in a couple of days. The doctors at the Delhi hospital have advised 3 weeks of rest for the legendary cricketer in order to fully recovery. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

It took 168 IPL innings for Shikhar Dhawan to score his maiden century when he scored an unbeaten 101 against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday (October 17) and now, two days later, the Delhi Capitals' opener smashes 106* against Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday and becomes the first-ever player to hit two back to back centuries in the history of the Indian Premier League. ## Yuvraj Singh, who holds the record of the fastest fifty in T20Is, has hailed Shikhar Dhawan for his second consecutive hundred and said that the India opener is batting like a dream. ## "This Gabbar is batting like a dream @SDhawan25 Back to back 100's not easy in t20! Many congratulations jatt ji for becoming the only player to score 2 consecutive Tons in the ipl! Not a hard task for @kxip but @DelhiCapitals got some bowlers! @MdShami11 top spell ! #IPL2020", Yuvi tweeted. ## This Gabbar is batting like a dream @SDhawan25 Back to back 💯 s ‘ not easy in t20 ! Many congratulations jatt ji for becoming the only player to score 2 consecutive Tons in the ipl ! Not a hard task for @kxip but @DelhiCapitals got some bowlers ! @MdShami11 top spell ! #IPL2020— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 20, 2020 ## "I took the responsibility of holding one end up and was also hitting the boundaries when I got the chance. On my Test debut, I remember I was scoring this frequently. I took proper rest and was fresh for this match. I didn't know ( when asked if he knew that he was the first man in IPL to score back-to-back tons)", Dhawan said in the post-match presentation. ## Dhawan, after the second consecutive hundred, has reached the second spot among the leading run-getters in this year's IPL with 465 runs in 10 innings. He has stuck 2 fifties and 2 hundred so far in the IPL 2020. All four 50+ scores have come in the last 4 innings. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

For the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League, a game had to be decided by two Super Overs as Mohammed Shami put up a sensational display of pace bowling to outclass Jasprit Bumrah's yorker spree to defend five in the first of the one-over shootouts. Chris Jordan then conceded 11 in the second Super Over before Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal chased the target down off four Trent Boult deliveries. ## And given that even the first game of the double-header Sunday was also tied in regular time before Kolkata Knight Riders won the super over against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Twitter went into a frenzy witnessing a thrilling finish of the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab match. ## See reactions - ## Was the World Cup final of 2019 a beter game or #mivskxip ? Unbelievable scenes today #ipl is here to stay Amazing effort by both teams @Jaspritbumrah93 game changer for @mipaltan and @klrahul11 for Punjab great finish world boss @henrygayle @mayankcricket #IPL2020 #supersunday— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 18, 2020 ## Madness 😮😮 What a tournament 🙌🏻 #IPL2020— Ollie Pope (@OPope32) October 18, 2020 ## Apparently if there is another super over Anil Kumble will have to Bowl to Mahela and Zaheer to Andy Flower. #IPL2020— Vikram Sathaye (@vikramsathaye) October 18, 2020 ## And that’s why @IPL is the best league in the world #IPL2020 ..period 👍🏼🏏— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) October 18, 2020 ## I hope nobody in India went to bed 😱 what an unbelievable evening of cricket that was!! #IPL2020 must be the best one yet?! #MIvsKXIP— Kate Cross (@katecross16) October 18, 2020 ## Tested cricket skills and ability. Tested presence of mind and calmness even more....— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 18, 2020 ## Wowwww @MdShami11 is matching @Jaspritbumrah93 Yorker for Yorker here. #IPL2020— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) October 18, 2020 ## How good is the #IPL2020 😍😍😍Is it the best tournament in the world? #MIvKXIP— Alexandra Hartley (@AlexHartley93) October 18, 2020 ## Lightning does strike twice in a day #SuperOver #IPL2020— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) October 18, 2020 ## The weekend that never ends. Three consecutive Super Overs. Unbeatable drama. @IPL #IPL2020— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) October 18, 2020 ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Kings XI Punjab got back to winning ways after defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday in a contest that went right into the wire. Kings XI Punjab, however, was almost on verge of repeating their previous games' mistakes in which the team couldn't cross the line despite putting themselves in a comfortable position. ## The thrilling 8-wickets win over RCB gave KXIP 2 valuable points but remains at the bottom of the points table with just 4 points in 8 matches. However, skipper KL Rahul, being totally dismissive of the league table, said that they are a better side than what the points table is showing. ## "We are a far better team than where we are on the points table, we have played some really, really good cricket", said KL Rahul in the post-match interview. ## "It is human to feel disappointed and frustrated with the past games, nobody wants to lose especially when you are doing a lot of things right, our skills have been very good, probably just didn’t capitalize on the moments" he added. ## "It started with the first game against Delhi, so as they say- it becomes a habit either winning or not winning, it has all been a great learning. It is part of the IPL, part of cricket wherever we play we know there are going to be ups and downs, but on a positive note, we really wanted this win to get some confidence in the group to go out and play our cricket with a lot more freedom from the next game", the skipper continued. ## Kings XI Punjab's both the win has come against RCB in the IPL 2020. While the first win was proved to be a walk in the park, they had to fight till the last ball to get the second one. Punjab will be next against the table topper Mumbai Indians on October 18. With just 6 games to go, it is almost a must-win situation for Punjab in all the games. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Dinesh Karthik has decided to give up his Kolkata Knight Riders' captaincy in order to focus more on his batting for the rest of the IPL 2020. Eoin Morgan, England's World Cup-winning captain, will take over franchise leadership duties from Dinesh Karthik to take the team forward. ## The CEO of KKR, Venky Mysore said, "we are fortunate to have leaders such as DK, who has always put the team first. It takes a lot of courage for someone like him to take a decision such as this. While we were surprised by his decision, we are respectful of his wishes".## We are also fortunate that Eoin Morgan, the 2019 World Cup-winning captain, who has been the vice-captain, is willing to lead the side going forward. DK and Eoin have worked brilliantly together during this tournament and although Eoin takes over as captain, this is effectively a role swap and we expect that this transition will work in a seamless manner", he added.## Under Dinesh Karthik's leadership, KKR have won four out of their seven matches so far this year and are placed fourth on the points table with 8 points.## For Eoin Morgan, his first real challenge is up against the defending champions, Mumbai Indians today (October 16) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.## Stay tuned...