BY SACNILK

Can India bounce back in 5-match series?## This is perhaps the biggest question raising among the all Indian fans at this moment. Well, the answer is 'yes' they can but only if the batsmen to show some promise this time. They will have to believe that they are still the No.1 Test side in the world.## Before landing in England and even after losing the first Test, where they put a great fight but unfortunately, could not cross the line and lost the match by 31-runs after reaching so close to winning, India was the favourite to win the 5-match Test series.## If the first match was very close to a perfect Test match, the second one was the opposite to the first match. It ended with a one-sided affair and England proved that side as they won by an innings and 159-runs. For India, a couple of lost Test matches have raised so many questions and doubts and let out some of the ghosts that have haunted touring Indian sides in the past.## Win and lose is of part of the game but the way India lost the second match where they could not even compete, doesn't augur so well for the confidence levels. In both innings of the second Test, India could manage only 107 and 130 runs. Their top order collapsed drastically in both the innings. Yes, the conditions were too difficult for the batsmen but still, they were needed to trust their skills.## So far in this series, only skipper Virat Kohli has looked in great form who has scored 240 runs with an average of 60 in 4 innings. Hardik Pandya is the second highest run-getter for India with 90 runs in 4 innings. Rest of the other batsmen have been lack of runs with opener Murli Vijay (26), KL Rahul (35), Ajinkya Rahane (48), Dinesh Karthik (21) haven't looked in good touch so far.## On the other hand, Bowlers have performed way better than batsmen. If India could come close to winning the first match, bowlers played a huge role who bowled out England in both the innings. Ravichandran Ashwin whose overseas record was very poor before the series, have looked India's best bowler in two matches so far by taking 7-wickets with a five-wicket haul.## Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami have also looked in great rhythm with 7 and 6 wickets respectively. The only weak point in India's bowling attack has been Hardik Pandya who played a 3rd seamer role in the second Test in place of Umesh Yadav. He hasn't performed well and because of that, the questions are also raising about his place in playing XI.## India is 2-0 down in the 5-match Test series. The third Test will do or die for them which is scheduled to play from Saturday, August 18.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.##

BY SACNILK

This was perhaps the first time under Virat Kohli's captaincy when India did not even compete in a Test match. After allowing England to take 289 runs lead in the first innings, India was in trying to avoid an innings defeat, bowled out on 130 and lost by an innings and 159 runs and go down 2-0 in 5-match series.## It was a perfect match for England where their batsmen batted well and bowlers took full advantage of overcast conditions. After Anderson's 5 for 20 led England to bowled out India on 107 in the first innings, Chris Woakes (137*) and Jonny Bairstow (93) took the game away from India with a massive 189-run partnership for the sixth wickets.## England declared their first innings on 396 at the fall of Sam Curran's wicket who scored 40 off 49 balls. Indian bowlers did bowl well especially, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami even though they could not stop England to take a big lead. Hardik took 3 for 66 while Shami too went with as many wickets and conceded 96.## With the conditions has become a lot tougher for the batsmen, India had a mammoth task in front of them to save the match. But India had no answer of Anderson and Broad's bowling who ran through India's batting line up with 4-wickets each and the remaining two wickets were taken by Woakes.## One can understand how badly India failed with the bat as for them, the biggest partnership of the match was 55 that came in the second innings between Hardik Pandya and Ravichandran Ashwin. The situation could have been even worse if the duo didn't put that partnership. Hardik batted well for his 26 while Ashwin remained the top scorer for India in both innings with 29 & 33.## Chris Woakes awarded Man Of The Match for match-winning all-round show as he took 4-wickets in the match and scored his maiden Test ton.## The third match of the 5-match series will be played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham from August 18. It will be a do or die match for India while England will look to seal the series.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

There seems no end of India's batting woes in the Test series in England. After losing the first Test by a small margin of 31-runs in Edgbaston, India's struggle with the bat continued in the second Test at Lords Cricket Ground, London.## After the day one of the second Test completely washed out due to rain, it took only 35.2 overs to England to bowled out India on 107 on another rain-interrupted day two. England's bowlers led by James Anderson's 5 for 20 took full advantage of overcast conditions.## Former West Indies' captain Clive Lloyd said that India should play ugly cricket to be successful in these conditions. One of the greatest captains of all time was speaking to ET and had plenty to say about India's batting and personally about Virat Kohli.## Excerpts :## When the conditions are all stacked in favour of the bowlers, what do you do as a batsman?## You bat ugly. That’s what you need to do and also hope that you have the luck on your side. It isn’t easy to bat in these conditions, especially when a bowler like James Anderson is bowling at you. But as a batsman you have to tell yourself that you will be patient, you will take blows on your body, you will be prepared to play and miss and yet not give your wicket away. Virat Kohli did exactly that at Edgbaston. He was not great to look at but he was hugely effective. That’s what you want from your best player and that’s what you need from your other batsmen.## Are you implying that Virat is a few notches higher in comparison to the other batsmen?## He is a rockstar. A player of tremendous quality but that doesn’t mean the others aren’t good enough or can’t stand out there and help out the captain. You needed one more man to bat ugly to win the Test at Edgbaston. One man to just tell himself that comes what I will not get out. It is a question of resolve and determination. Of courage and conviction. Cricket isn’t an easy sport and these conditions are as difficult as they can ever be. But that’s where you need to excel as a batsman to qualify as a great. Virat has done that and that’s what I am trying to tell you.## Coming to Virat the leader. You have been the most successful cricket captain of all time. How do you look at Virat as captain?## I like his style and like seeing him conduct himself as captain. Every captain is different and will have his own style. I had once asked Malcolm Marshall, who had a broken hand if he would still risk playing? Marshall did and got five wickets for me. Will Virat do the same of his players? Maybe not. The question that is of paramount importance here is how much trust the players have in Virat and vice-versa. I can say my players trusted me wholeheartedly and I did the same with each and every one of them. You can never be a successful captain and get the best out of your team if you don’t trust each other to the fullest. That’s what Virat will have to do as captain — get his players to trust him with their life. I see a lot of potential in him and I hope he will get better with time.## If you were in Virat’s position, would you have played your premier bowlers in the IPL or would you speak to the BCCI and withdraw them from the IPL to keep them fresh for the 2019 World Cup?## I have a very straightforward answer for you. The nation comes first. India comes first. IPL will come every year. If Virat and the management feels you need a certain bowler and the IPL may exhaust him or burn him out, you have to ensure he doesn’t play the IPL in World Cup year. Arthur Ashe once came to Melbourne and seeing 90,000 people in the stadium said to me, you guys must be millionaires. I said we get $500 per game.## Modern players make enough money and there is every reason that they should. But when it is a toss-up between the World Cup and the IPL and when you know you might not be at your best for the World Cup, you have to sacrifice franchise cricket. If you win the World Cup for your country you will qualify in the category of a cricketing legend. No number of franchise league wins can get you up there.## India is 1-0 down in 5-match series. To win this Test series, India will have bat well in rest of the remaining matches. Apart from skipper Virat Kohli, no other Indian batsmen looked to score runs against England's bowling attack in the first Test and resulted in, they failed to chase down 194 and lost the match by 31-runs.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading

BY SACNILK

Indian team is facing criticism by the former players after the loss of Edgbaston Test. In the list, former England's captain and commentator Nasser Hussain feels that India is a bit 'undercooked' for the five-match Test series. Earlier, he questioned Virat Kohli's captaincy a day after the conclusion of the first Test and had said that Kohli should take the responsibility for the loss.## Hussain questioned their decision to reduce the sole warm-up match to three days instead of the scheduled four. He asserted that lack of preparation as well as the team management's dubious decision to exclude Cheteshwar Pujara resulted in their struggles against the moving ball in Edgbaston.## However, despite the poor batting show, Hussain still feels that India will be competitive in upcoming matches even though he predicts the series scoreline 3-2 in favor of England. Speaking to India Today ahead of the second match at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, Nasser Hussain said,## "3-2 is what I had predicted before a ball went down, (it will still be) 3-2 in favor of England. I don't think there'll be any draws."## The second match of the 5-match will be played at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, London where India had happy memories. Last time when India toured this part of the world in 2014, they registered a memorable victory at Home of the cricket.## On the other hand, England has lost five Test out of their last ten appearance at this ground. Unlike the last time, London is facing the extreme heatwave which means the pitch will be dry and there will not be much swing for the pacers. Hussain opined that the Indian batsmen would find it much easier than at Edgbaston.## "It will be a good pitch at the Lord's. I don't think the ball will do as much as it did at Edgbaston so that will help the Indian batsmen a little bit. But, there's the slope at the Lord's and there's always a little bit of movement. It will also spin a little bit. The side playing better cricket would be important.## "Conditions play a part but if India had been a little smarter and taken their catches in the first game, you would be talking about one-nil down for England and everyone will be nailing England at the moment. So both sides have their problems," he said.## India will be hoping a much better performance with the bat than Edgbaston at the Lord's, London in the second Test starting Thursday, August 9.## For more update and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

India may have lost the first Test against England in Edgbaston, Birmingham but limited overs wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that India will bounce back strongly in upcoming matches.## In the first Test match, it was India's batting that let the team down. However, skipper Virat Kohli looked in sublime touch and scored 149 & 51 and he took India very close to win but couldn't get over the line. On the other hand, bowlers did a very good job for India and bowled out England in both the innings. Therefore, Dhoni feels that India can compete in five-match series.## "To win a Test match you need 20 wickets. And we did that. That's all I will say. It doesn't matter how well you bat and how well you are there for five days but if you take 20 wickets, you can win a Test match," he said at an event in Mumbai.## Despite the loss, Kohli stood out as alone warrior and almost won the game for his side. The former captain Dhoni was all praise for Kohli when he was asked about him climbing at the top of ICC's individual ranking list.## "Virat is the best. He has reached a status where he is close to legend status. I am very happy for him. The way he has batted everywhere and the last few years he has been brilliant taking the team forward. That's what you want from a leader. All the best to him and very well done," he said.## Keep in mind, Virat Kohli is the first batsman since Sachin Tendulkar after 2011 and overall seventh Indian to reach on the top of the ICC Test batting rankings. He also became the highest rating points getter among the Indian batsman of all time. He has now 934 points and 18 points more than Sunil Gavaskar.## Meanwhile, on the other hand, Dhoni last seen in recently concluded 3-match ODI series against England. Now he will be seen in Asia Cup which will be played in next month in UAE. India is defending champions of Asia Cup and will look to retain the title.## For more updates and news about Cricket, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

As you all know cricket is the game of uncertainty where Everyday new records are created and breaks. In the modern day cricket, players have become much more innovative with their batting and bowling and the mindset they have developed since the T20 has launched, every cricket records seem possible to be broken. ## However, there are some records which no one was able to break and there are high chances that some of the records will not be broken in any time soon while some will be the hard nut to crack for any player no matter how much they have developed themselves.## Here is the list of TOP 10 records that look impossible to break:## 1. Sir Don Bradman's average of 99.94 - Sir Don Bradman is recognized as the greatest batsman of all time. He represented Australia in 52 Test matches and scored 6,996 runs with an average of 99.94. he had scored 29 centuries and 13 half-centuries in his career. Sir Bradman's average is the record in any format of the game. No other players even could come close to this. His record sounds impossible to break for any player in any era.## 2. Sachin Tendulkar's 200 Test match - Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game. It takes a lot of physical and mental strength to be able to compete until five days. Sachin Tendulkar who represented India in 200 Tests and 463 ODIs is the synonym of the game. During his 24 years long career, he scored 15,921 and 18,426 runs with an average of 53.79 and 44.83 in Tests and ODIs respectively. Sachin has created so many records but his record of 200 Test matches is highly unlike to be broken. Among the current players, England's Alastair Cook has played 158 matches.## 3. Anil Kumble's perfect TEN against Pakistan - There have been only two bowlers in the history of the game who have been able to take 10 wickets in a Test match innings. Former Indian bowler and third highest wicket-taker of all time, Anil Kumble made a record of taking 10 wickets in an innings of Test against Pakistan team at Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi on February 7, 1999. Apart from Kumble, England's Jim Laker has also done the same against Australia in 1956.## 4. Yuvraj Singh's fifty off 12 balls in T20I - Yuvraj Singh is one of the finest batsmen in limited overs cricket. In T20 world cup 2007, Yuvraj had smashed the fastest fifty against Englan which is still a record in any format of the international cricket. He has represented India in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs, and 58 T20Is and scored 1900, 8701, and 1177 runs.## 5. West Indies' 27 Test match without a loss - West Indies was unbeatable in between 1970 and 1990. They were the most dangerous side in between those years. In the years between 1982 and 1984, Windies played 27 Test matches without losing a single match. That was such dominance that didn't allow any teams to win against them. Over the years, Windies have played 535 Test matches and won 171 of them.## 6. Irfan Pathan's first over Hat-trick - Indian team player Irfan Pathan has a wonderful record in Test cricket to his name. He made this record in 2006 with a hat-trick in the very first over of the Test against the Pakistan team. He dismissed the likes of Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, and Salman Butt.## 7. Graham Gooch's 456 runs in a Test match - England's Graham Gooch has a special record which he made against Team India in 1990. He scored 333 in the first innings and 123 in the second innings. After that, Brian Lara also made a record of making 400 runs in an innings, but no batsman, including Lara, has not been able to demolish this record so far.## 8. Phil Simons' bowling figure of 10-8-3-4 in an ODI - In modern day cricket bowling has been the toughest job for any bowler. There was a time when bowlers dominate the cricket. West Indies' Phil Simmons has made a unique record against Pakistan 23 years ago. He bowled 10 overs and only conceded 3 runs for 4 wickets with 8 maiden overs.## 9. Chaminda Vaas' 8 wickets in an ODI - Former Sri Lankan bowler and one of the best left-arm fast medium, Chaminda Vaas has a record of taking 8 wickets in one match in ODIs. He took 8 wickets for 19 runs in 8 overs against the Zimbabwe team. It is difficult to break the record of 8 wickets taken by Vaas in ODIs.## 10. AB de Villiers' fastest century off 31 balls in ODIs - AB de Villiers is considered as the most innovative and dangerous batsman of this generation. In 2015 against West Indies, he smashed the fastest century in one-day cricket (31 balls). He had broken the record of New Zealand's Corey Anderson who scored a 36-ball hundred against the same opponent in 2014.## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

India's skipper Virat Kohli displaced Australia's Steve Smith and becomes the No.1 Test batsman in latest MRFTyres ICC Test Rankings updated on Sunday, August 5. Kohli has now 934 points, 5 more than second-placed Smith.## Kohli now becomes the seventh Indian batsman, and first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011, to climb to the top of the rankings. He reached to this milestone after the knock of 149 & 51 in the first Test against England concluded on Saturday, August 4 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. However, his remarkable effort went in vain as England won the match by 31-runs.## Apart from Kohli and Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Dilip Vengsarkar are the other India batsmen to have achieved number-one rankings during their careers.## Before the first Test match, Kohli had 903 points and was behind Smith with 26 points. But Smith isn't playing international cricket and will not be playing till March 2019 due to a 12-month suspension imposed by Cricket Australia for his part in the Newlands ball-tampering saga.## Apart from Kohli, England's Sam Curran is another big mover in both batsmen and bowlers rankings. The 20-year old scored 24 runs and 4-wickets in the first innings and a match-winning 63 runs and 1 wicket in the second innings and therefore, he jumped from 152nd to 72nd spot in batting charts while the bowling table has seen him rise 49 places to 62nd position.## India's Mohammed Shami slipped two places to 19th in bowlers table while England's Stuart Broad fall one place to 13th. James Anderson has managed to hold his No.1 position.## Latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen:## 1. Virat Kohli (IND) 934 Points## 2. Steve Smith (AUS) 929 Points## 3. Joe Root (ENG) 865 Points## 4. Kane Williamson (NZ) 847 Points## 5. David Warner (AUS) 820 Points## 6. Cheteshwar Pujara (IND) 791 Points## 7. Dimuth Karunaratne (SL) 754 Points## 8. Dinesh Chandimal (SL) 733 Points## 9. Dean Elgar (SA) 724 Points## 10. Aiden Markram (SA) 703 Points## Latest ICC Test rankings for bowlers:## 1. James Anderson (ENG) 884 Points## 2. Kagiso Rabada (SA) 882 Points## 3. Ravindra Jadeja (IND) 857 Points## 4. Vernon Philander (SA) 826 Points## 5. Ravichandran Ashwin(IND) 825 Points## 6. Pat Cummins (AUS) 800 Points## 7. Trent Boult (NZ) 795 Points## 8. Rangana Herath (SL) 791 Points## 9. Neil Wagner (NZ) 765 Points## 10. Josh Hazlewood (AUS) 759 Points## For more and latest news about Cricket, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

When Day 4 play resumed of the Edgbaston Test, India were needed 84 runs to win with five wickets in hand. The conditions wasn't easy for the batsmen as it were offering a lot to the bowlers. However, Irrespective of the conditions India's camp was hopeful to win this Test as world's best batsman, Virat Kohli was still at the crease on 43* with Dinesh Karthik at the other end on 18*.## As the game resume, only on the 4th ball of the day, Karthik got out off James Anderson to wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow. He could add only two more runs to his account. Hardik Pandya came to the crease with positive intent and played a few shots with right frame of mind. On the other hand, Kohli reached past his fifty with a boundary.## The biggest turning point came in the 46th over of the innings whene Ben Stokes dismissed Virat Kohli soon after reaching the half-century. As Kohli was going back, India's hopes were also seems to be gone. Two balls later Kohli's dismissal, Mohammed Shami also got out in the same over. From now, the win was looking far away and in 54th over, India bowled out on 162 to handed England a 31-run win. If India lose this match it is because of the poor shot selection from the their top order that increased the pressure on Virat Kohli. He stood alone in both the innings and aggregated 200 runs (149 & 51) in this match for his side but his effort went in vain.## on the other hand, if India could come so close to win because of their bowlers who bowled out England in both the innings. If Ravichandran Ashwin was a star in the first innings (4 wickets), Ishant Sharma stood out in the second innings with a 5-fer. But it were the batsmen who let slipped the game from their hand.## However, Ashwin went on to defend batsmen after their poor show with bat. He was talking to media in post-match press conference. He said that despite the lose, they competed really well.## "I think this is a game where we would have liked to finish on the winning side. No doubt about it but there are a lot of things we can feel proud of at the end of this game, it's a long Test series so to feel defeated or pained so early on in the series is unfair and at the moment it is all about the feelings that I am bringing out, and I don't feel that bad about it as of now because I thought we competed really well and made two comebacks and probably didn't close out the game when the initiative was on our side. That's something that can happen when you are traveling so we are upbeat about it.## "Like Virat keeps mentioning, when you make runs and pick up wickets, you want to make sure that it is a killer blow and you want to end up on the winning side. It gives you more pleasure out of the game and when it doesn't happen you feel a little deflated about it. But as I told you before, this game was like a see-saw battle and there was enough in there for the quicks and it was doing quite a bit. So they were always in the game and you do expect batsmen to get a ball that has their name on it. So with that sort of a game hedging on the balance, I thought we competed really well through the game. There are a lot of things to be upbeat about so not completely feeling deflated and in this space I feel like we did well and there is something we can learn going ahead in this series," Ashwin said.## On his personal perspective, Ashwin himself has plenty of reasons to be proud of. He turned in a superlative performance with the ball, ending with seven wickets in the match.## "For me, it's all about this mental space I find myself in. I don't dwell much into the way I have bowled, it is in the past as of now. It is important to try and learn from this game and take it to the next game. These are not conditions that are extremely suitable or tailor made for a spinner so I would like to take confidence out of this game and try and move ahead and build on this." he added.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

Looks like there is no stopping India's swashbuckling left-hander Smriti Mandhana in women's Kia Super League in England. After hammering the fastest fifty of the tournament a few days ago, she followed up with a sizzling 102 off 61 balls against Lancashire Thunder at Old Trafford, Manchester on Friday, August 3.## With the help of Mandhana's first T20 hundred, Western Storm beat Lancashire Thunder by 7-wickets. Mandhana single-handedly took his side home with a comfortable win in the end. ## She has been in great touch since the start of the tournament. In five matches so far, she has scored 48, 37, 52*, 43*, and 102 with the strike rate of more than 200.## Coming to this match, Western Storm's skipper Heather Knight had won the toss and opted to field first. New Zealand's Amy Satterthwaite played a brilliant inning of unbeaten 85 off 57 balls. India's Harmanpreet Kaur run herself out without scoring a single run off the first ball after playing a heroic knock in the last match.## Despite Amy Satterthwaite, no other player could score big. Nicole Bolton (13), Eleanor Threlkeld (15), and Emma Lamb (13) could not capitalize on their start and therefore, Thunder made 153 for 7 after 20 overs. Anya Shrubsole took 2 for 36 while Freya Davies and Naomi Dattani grabbed one wicket each.## In reply of 154, Storm lost Rachel Priest (5) and skipper Heather Knight (8) on 47 but Mandhana and Stafanie Taylor (33*) put on a match-winning partnership of 102 off 77 balls. Mandhana dismissed just before reaching the target but she made sure that her team won the match. The Storm chased down the target with 10 balls to spare.## Kate Cross, Emma Lamb, and Amy Satterthwaite took a wicket each but they never looked troubling Mandhana at any stage of the game. Mandhana awarded Player Of The Match for her match-winning hundred.## For more and latest news about Cricket, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

Cricket has changed a lot since the start of this decade especially the one-day format. With batsmen have become a bit more innovative with their batting, bowlers found it difficult to deal with their bowling. It could be said that batsmen are dominating the bowlers at the moment.## However, there are some batsmen who are way ahead than the rest of the others as they are more consistent with their performance. This could also be said same for the bowlers.## Here we are presenting you the best ODI team XI of present.## 1. ROHIT SHARMA (IND) - Rohit Sharma is perhaps the best opener at present. He is the only player in the world who has scored 3 double hundreds in the 50-over format. His highest score of 264 came against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2016. He has played 183 ODIs so far in which he scores 6748 runs with an average of 44.99. Sharma has scored 18 centuries and 34 half-centuries to get those runs.## 2. FAKHAR ZAMAN (PAK) - Fakhar Zaman is still new in international cricket but he has shown enough talent to become one of the best batsmen in this format. He surpassed the great Viv Richards to become the quickest to reach a thousand runs (18 innings). He scored a famous hundred in final of the champions trophy against India that helped Pakistan to win their maiden CT title. He is also the only Pakistani player to score a double hundred in ODIs. He has played 18 ODIs so far and scores 1065 runs with an average of 76.07. He has scored 3 centuries and 6 half-centuries.## 3. VIRAT KOHLI (IND) - Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the best batsman in the world at present and currently the No.1 ODI batsman in ICC Rankings. His numbers in ODIs are unbelievable. When its come to chase, there is no better player than him in the history of the cricket. In 211 ODIs he has scored 9779 runs with an outstanding average of 58.21. Kohli has scored 35 hundred and 48 fifties. He is only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar (49) in terms of centuries.## 4. JOE ROOT (ENG) - Joe Root is England's best batsman and currently the No.2 in ICC ODI Rankings. He has played 116 ODIs and scores 4800 runs with an average of 51.61. He has scored 13 centuries (Most by any England's player) and 28 half-centuries.## 5. JOS BUTTLER (ENG) - Jos Buttler is currently the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world. In recent time, he has emerged as a match winner for England. In 117 ODIs, Buttler, has scored 3148 runs with an average of 40.36 and also scored 6 hundred and 18 fifties.## 6. MS Dhoni (IND, C & WK) - Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the best wicketkeeper in after Australia's Adam Gilchrist and one of the most successful captains in the world. Despite his poor form in recent times he is still one of the best batsmen of all time. He recently became the only 12th player to reach 10,000 runs in ODIs. He has now 10,046 runs in 321 matches with an average of 51.26. He is the only captain to win all three ICC Trophy (CT, T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup).## 7. SHAKIB AL HASAN (BNG) - Shakib Al Hasan is undoubtedly the best batsman Bangladesh has ever produced. He is currently the best all-rounder in the world and will be recognized as one of best all-rounders of all time. He has scored 5433 runs in 188 matches and grabbed 237 wickets while bowling.## 8. RASHID KHAN (AFG) - Rashid Khan emerged as the biggest superstar of Afghanistan. He is mysterious bowler as many batsmen found it difficult to pick his googly. The No.2 ODI bowler has played 43 matches an picked 100 wickets with an outstanding average of 14.4. His economy rate in ODIs is the best at present (3.96).## 9. JASPRIT BUMRAH (IND) - Jasprit Bumrah is considered as one of the finest bowlers in limited overs cricket. He is currently the No.1 bowler in ODIs. In 37 ODIs so far, he has escaped 64 wickets with 27/5 his best figures. He bowled with the excellent economy rate of 4.65 in 50-overs format.## 10. KAGISO RABADA (SA) - Kagiso Rabada is the best bowler in the world at the moment in across format. The 9th rank ODI bowler has played 50 matches so far and grabbed 80 wickets with the best figures of 16/6.## 11. HASAN ALI (PAK) - Pakistan has always produced great bowlers and Hasan Ali is the latest example of that. Despite being new in international cricket, he has shown great skill and temperament to trouble the batsmen. He has escaped 68 wickets with a brilliant average of 20.88 in 33 matches.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

In England's 1000th Test match, skipper Joe Root and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow were taking the game away from India before Ravichandran Ashwin (4 for 60) and Mohammed Shami (2 for 64) fired back on England and left them with 285-9 from 216-3 at the close of the day one of the first of the 5-match series.## Ashwin was the star with the ball. He first gets the opener Alastair Cook with a beauty before getting Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Stuart Broad. He mixed the variations in his bowling that helped him getting those wickets. Mohammed Shami supported Ashwin with a tight spell at the other end.## Earlier in the day, it was Joe Root who had won the toss opted to bat first on a damp pitch. Cook and Keaton Jennings opened the innings for England. Both the batsmen paid Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma well as there was not much movement from the pitch. Skipper Virat Kohli was quick to understand that the pitch is not offering much to the pacers, and he put Ashwin in the bowling in just 6th over. He proved the decision right in his just second over as he bowled out Cook on the score of 25. Cook made 13.## After the dismissal of Cook, Jennings and Root took the charge. Both the batsmen put on a 72-run stand for the second wicket before Shami got Jennings. Jennings was unlucky to get out as the ball took inside edge of his bat before hitting on to his bat and to the stumps. He played a good 42-run inning. David Malan also fall cheaply to Shami as he couldn't hold Shami's fast inswinger and got LBW out after scoring just 8 runs.## However, Root and Bairstow didn't allow India to take control of the game and safely took the game on to Tea break with 163 for 3. After the Tea break, both the batsmen attacked on the bowlers and runs started flowing. When things were looking good for England and miserable for India, a direct throw from Virat Kohli dismissed Root after scoring brilliant 80. Root's wicket was the turning point of the day one as England lose the tempo after that. Bairstow who was well set went for an expensive cut to Umesh Yadav and chopped on. He played a quick knock of 70.## England's new vice-captain, Jos Buttler came to the crease and did last long only for two balls as Ashwin got him LBW on a flighted delivery. Ben Stokes also couldn't hold for long and became Ashwin's third victim of the day. Sam Curran and Adil Rashid added 35 for the 8th wickets before Ishant Sharma collects his 1st wicket of the day by dismissing Rashid on 13. Stuart Broad was the last man of the day to be dismissed as he became a 4th victim of Ashwin. Curran and James Anderson safely negotiated rest of the remaining day as England finish on 285 for 9 at the stumps.## Earlier in the day on the toss, India surprisingly left out Cheteshwar Pujara from the final playing XI and played with three specialist openers, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

Not every time when a sub-continent team play in overseas conditions and start the series with a slight advantage. India, the No.1 Test side in the world will look to capitalize on England's recent struggles in the longest format of the game.## However, the things won't be easy for India as their past record isn't good in English conditions. Their last two series in England in 2011 and 2014 weren't something that India can proud. They lost both the series with 4-0 and 3-1 respectively.## But this time around, things could be different as conditions are very much favorable for India. In this season of summer when the pitches are usually dry, Indian team is must be feeling like home. They will be thinking that this is their best chance to win the series in England also knowing that England is not in the best of form in this format.## This is a long series where things can change quickly. India's skipper Virat Kohli while speaking in a pre-match press conference also believes that long series gives opportunities to turn the things around and said that this is something that they are looking forward to.## "The fact this is a long series is something we are looking forward to. It gives you a lot of opportunities during the course of the whole series," Kohli said. "There are two ways to think about this - either it's too long a series to play or think there are so many opportunities to come up every session, every Test match. We are definitely in a good frame of mind. It's a young team who have played a lot of matches. It's a very rare combination to find. We are comfortable with where we stand as a team and we are pretty confident of our abilities. We have to the skill sets, character and mental toughness which is required to compete and win in overseas conditions," Kohli said## Despite been confident, Kohli stressed the need to stay mentally fresh and focussed throughout the next six weeks. Point to be noted that this is the same thing Ajinkya Rahane had said a day before.## "This is a five-match series and not a two or three-match series where if things go wrong in one match, desperation sinks in. In such a long series, you can be patient enough to turn things around. From that point of view, all of us are relaxed. Bowling, batting and even in terms of fielding, everyone is in a good space now."## "You need to make sure that all the players and the management are on the same page. Especially when you have a long series and you know it's going to be challenging, you cannot afford to have individuals who are drifting away with their mindset. We keep speaking about it regularly. It's a small thing that changes the mindset. When you take an adverse situation as an opportunity than something to be feared of, it totally changes the mindset. That's constantly what we speak about. And to understand that, the challenge comes in when the situation is not going your way...that's when composure comes in," Kohli added.## Long series' are always been beneficial. It does not only provide opportunities to fight back but also gives the option to try different combinations. India will really look to take an advantage of this as they are looking to use Kuldeep Yadav. If this happens then anyone from Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja could have sit on the bench. The same can happen with Pujara and Dhawan (at least for one or two games) as they didn't look in best of their touch in the warm-up game.## "You always come up with situations when you're playing such long seasons that you have scenarios. Along with the management, you have to sit down and take a call. It all boils down to your gut feeling. If five people on the table agree that this is the right thing to do for the team, then we go ahead with that, there are no ifs and buts. There's no looking back. If we take a decision today we're not going to sit down tomorrow and say, 'Oh we could have done that.' We don't act like that.## "That's why we've been pushing forward as a team. We've not held on to decisions we've made. Once we've made them we don't look back at them, even if they come off or not. They're taken in the best interests of the team at that particular time; there are total honesty and total ownership all around the squad. That's the mindset behind it. In Test cricket what matters is the balance of the squad: that's the most crucial thing," Kohli said.## Apart from the team's success, Virat Kohli will want to improve his record in English conditions. Last time when India toured England, Kohli struggled throughout the 5-match series. In 10 innings he only managed to score 133 with an average of below 15. But since then, he has been in fine touch. He will be hoping to things turn around for him this time.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.