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Australian squad announcement                 Australia revealed squad for the upcoming series against India and for T20 world cup, which they are going to host. They made just one change from their last year's world cup squad to strengthen their batting. They named Tim David in for Mitchell Swepson because conditions are good for batting and pace bowling. Australia   won  the T20 world cup last year for the first   time  so they will have a chance to defend their title and become the first team to win back to back world cups. 15-member squad Aaron Finch(cap) David Warner  Steve Smith  Mitchell Marsh  Marcus Stoinis  Matthew Wade Glenn Maxwell  Josh Inglis  Tim David  Ashton Agar  Mitchell Starc  Adam Zampa  Josh Hazlewood  Pat Cummins (vc)  Kane Richardson Note:       Cameron Green will be the part of the squad on India tour whereas Warner will be rested. 

AUS vs ZIM                  In the second ODI, Australia defeated Zimbabwe in a one sided contest and clinched the series by winning the first two matches.  Australia chose to bowl first and made a brilliant start as Starc took 3 wickets in his first spell. Only Sean Williams scored above 25 and Zimbabwe got all out on just 96 runs. Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa took 3 wickets each whereas Green grabbed 2. While chasing, Finch again failed to score and got out on only 1 run. Warner also departed on low score before the brilliant partnership between Smith and Carey . Smith gave another outstanding performance and his contribution of 47 in 41 deliveries led Australia to win the game as well as series. Starc became man of the match for his amazing bowling effort. 

AUS vs ZIM              Australia will take on Zimbabwe on 31st August at the same venue. They are leading the 3 match series by 1-0 and in this match, they are likely to clinch the series.  Last match was not really difficult for them to win but in this match, Zimbabwe will try to give tough competition to the Aussies. Warner , Smith and Maxwell were really impressive in the last game but Finch did not score much so it will be another opportunity for him to get rid of his poor form.  Cameron Green was absolutely brilliant with the ball in the last match, he took his carrer best figures, so youngster will try to repeat his performance. Mitchell Marsh is injured and will not play in the series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand so Australia will have to make one change in this match. 

IND vs PAK            India won their first match of Asia Cup against arch rivals Pakistan. It was a close game in which, Pandya's all round performance led India to a last over victory. Rohit Sharma won the toss and as expected, opted for field. Bhuvneshvar Kumar sent Babar Azam to the pavilion on low score and India begun well. Avesh Khan took another wicket in the powerplay and Fakhar Zaman also departed on 10. Iftikhar Ahmed played impressive knock of 28 and made a crucial stand with Rizwan, who scored 43 in 42 deliveries. In the end, a couple of big hits by Shahnawaz Dahani helped Pakistan to reach at competitive total of 147. Bhuvneshvar Kumar took 4 wickets for 26 runs and registered the best bowling performance by an Indian bowler against Pakistan in T20Is, Pandya also took 3. The target was not too big but the fallen wicket of Rahul in the first over and the stunning bowling of the debutant, Naseem Shah made it really challenging. Fakhar Zaman dropp

ENG vs SA             In the second test, England showed complete dominance and demolished South Africa. They won the second test by an innings and 85 runs and will play the series decider 3rd test in London starting from 8 September.  South Africa batted first after winning the toss but did not score much in the 1st innings. They got all out on just 151 as Anderson and Broad took 3 wickets each. In the 1st innings of England, the skipper, Ben Stokes(103) and Ben Foakes(113) hit brilliant hundreds and Bairstow played another beautiful knock, however, missed his fifty by just 1 run.  England posted a mammoth total of 415 and took the heavy lead of 264 in the 1st innings. In the 2nd innings, Anderson took another 3 wickets whereas Ollie Robinson grabbed 4 as South African batters failed again and they got all out on 179. They lost the match by an innings and 85 runs in the end. 

IND vs PAK                The wait is over, today, India will play their first match of Asia Cup against Pakistan. Two top class rivals will face each other in Dubai without their main bowlers. The last time when they played was in last year's T20 world cup where Pakistan demolished India. India will be looking for avenge from their arch rivals. The two teams are the strongest sides in this tournament and they are likely to meet in super four as well as in the final. Indian team looks a bit more stronger than their opposition as Pakistan will play without their top bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, so their bowling would be a bit weaker than the last time. India will play with the full strength side after a long time, they would expect good performances from Rohit, Kohli and Rahul, who are the key players for India. Pakistan is over dependent on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, which could be costly for them. 

AUS vs ZIM                      Australia registered a comprehensive victory over Zimbabwe in the 1st ODI in Townswille. Additionally, Australian team gave a special tribute to the Aussie legend, Andrew Symonds , his family and friends also became part of that special moment.  Australian bowlers restricted Zimbabwe on just 200 in 47.3 overs. Cameron Green took his first fifer in ODI cricket and ended with his carrer best 5-33 in 9 overs, Zampa also got 3 on his comeback. Marumani(45) and Madhevere(71) played impressively from Zimbabwe. Aaron Finch again departed on low score before the brilliant partnership between Warner  and Smith . Warner made amazing 57 before getting out by Sikander Raza, Smith remained unbeaten on 48 in 80 deliveries and stayed on one end. Maxwell finished the things in style, he made outstanding 32 in just 9 balls and Australia took the series lead. Green became man of the match for his stunning bowling figures. 

Australian 11          Australian white ball captain, Aaron Finch revealed 11 of the Aussies for the first match against Zimbabwe in Townswille. Aussies will take on Zimbabwe in a 3-match ODI series after a long period of 8 years. 1 David   Warner  2Aaron Finch(CAP)  3 Steve Smith  4 Mitchell Marsh 5 Glenn Maxwell 6 Marcus Stoinis  7 Alex Carey(WK)  8 Cameron Green 9 Mitchell Starc  10 Adam Zampa  11 Josh Hazlewood 

AUS vs ZIM                   Australia will play the series opener against Zimbabwe at Townswille after a long time. Both teams played last time in 2014 against each other where Zimbabwe made an upset and registered their 2nd win over Aussies in ODIs. Zimbabwe recently played against India and lost the series by 3-0 but in the last match, they almost crossed the victory line. Australia played their last ODIs series on Sri Lanka tour, where they faced a 3-2 defeat from the hosts in a close series. Australian test skipper, Pat Cummins is rested whereas Adam Zampa and Sean Abbot will make their comebacks in this series. It would be a great opportunity for Aaron Finch to get back in form and score runs. Aussies will try to grab all 30 points from this series by winning all the matches of this series. 

Happy birthday Sir Donald Bradman                       On August 27, 1908 , a baby was born in Australia, who later became the Don of the cricket. In his time, when the batting was really difficult, he set the huge batting standards, which are unreachable. It was an ear, Bradman's era, when bowlers were afraid of him. He holds the record of highest average in test cricket, which is unlikely to be broken in the future. He hit 12 double-tons, most by any player in international cricket. He single-handedly led Australia to clinch many series, especially against England. He begun his carrer in 1928 and played for 20 years and totally dominated in those two decades. Apart from an excellent player, he was an outstanding captain as well, he showed his brilliant leadership skills in famous 1937 Ashes. He holds numerous records including most runs in a test series and Ashes, he scored 974 runs in 1930 Ashes. In his last match, he needed just four runs to

SL vs AFG              The 15th edition of Asia Cup is going to start from today as Sri Lanka will take on Afghanistan in the tournament opener. Although India and Pakistan are the favourites in the tournament but Sri Lankan team is also strong and they can beat any team by playing like a unit. The teams will not be only focused on winning the tournament but they will also try to make their sides balanced because T20 world cup is not too far. Most of the fans will be excited for India-Pakistan clash, which will be played tomorrow. Both teams are strong and are able to beat each other, so it would be a great contest to watch out for. 

NZ squad  Blackcaps named their squad for upcoming Chappell-Hadlee   trophy, which will begin from 6 September with 1st ODI followed by 2nd and 3rd ODIs on 8th and 11th September respectively.  15-member Squad Kane Williamson(c), Finn Allen, Mike Bracewell, Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Tim Southee Both teams will compete for the 12th time and Australia have won 6 times  whereas Kiwis managed to clinch 4 series. 

SA vs ENG          South Africa will begin their second test against England from today and they will try to clinch the series by winning this match, they registered a one sided victory in 1st match. It will make their position more stronger on WTC points table. Currently, they are on number 1 position and by winning this series, the way of WTC final will become easy for them. England are almost out of WTC final race but they would not like a series defeat at home, so they will try to bounce back in this match. England declared their playing 11 in 2nd test They decided to make 1 change in their 11, Ollie Robinson will join the pace attack in place of Matthew Potts. 

WTC 2021-2023             Former Australian cricketer, Shane Watson gave his opinion on WTC contenders. According to Watson, Australia has hinge chances to make their way into the finals but South Africa can spoil their party because they are playing very good cricket. He also said that India and Pakistan have chance to qualify as India will host Australia whereas Pakistan will play all the remaining matches at home. Asia Cup             Watson said that India will win the Asia cup because Indian team is really strong but he did not deny that Pakistan would not. According to him, the winner of the India vs Pakistan match on 28th August will win the Asia cup but India is a bit more stronger. 

Rahul Dravid  Indian head coach, Rahul Dravid has tested COVID positive just before flying to UAE to join the team for Asia Cup. After two days, he will give another COVID test, the bowling coach, Paras Mhambrey will step in till then.  India will start their Asia Cup campaign on 28th August against their arch rivals, Pakistan. The Asia cup squad and other staff members will assemble in Dubai today but Dravid will be able to join them after being tested negative. 

ZIM VS IND In the 3rd ODI, Zimbabwe gave tough competition to India although, they lost the game by just 13 runs. By winning this match, India whitewashed Zimbabwe in the series. Even though Zimbabwe lost the match but Sikander Raza won the hearts.  India won the toss again but this time, KL Rahul opted for bat. India started slowly and the first wicket fell in 15th over on 63 runs. Shubhman Gill was absolutely brilliant, he scored his maiden ton(130 in only 97 balls) and also made the highest individual score for India against Zimbabwe. Ishan Kishan was also impressive, he got an unfortunate run-out on 50. Brad Evans took his best bowling figures of 5-54 in 10 overs and India set the good total of 289 in 50 overs. Zimbabwe was never expected to even compete while chasing 290 but they did. Sean Williams played impressive knock of 45 in 46 deliveries before the outstanding century of Sikander Raza, who made 115 in 95 balls. At one stage, Zimbabwe was looking in

NZ vs WI             New Zealand defeated West Indies in the final ODI and won the ODI series for the first time ever in West Indies. It was a comfortable win for New Zealand as they chased 300+ target in 48th over.  Caribbean team scored 301 while batting first as Mayers hit century. In this match, Hope played a test knock of 51 in 100 balls whereas Pooran played a T20 knock of 91 in just 55 deliveries. Target was big but the fifty plus knocks played by Conway, Latham, Guptill and Mitchell before the brilliant finishing of Neesham helped New Zealand to win the game. PAK vs NED               Pakistan registered victory in a close encounter and whitewashed Netherlands in the series. They batted first but were unable to score big. They got all out on 206, out of which, Babar scored 91. While chasing the small target, only Vikramjit Singh and Tom Cooper played impressively and scored fifties. Despite of their efforts, their team fell 10 runs short of the target and

Update on Asia Cup                 Pakistani pacer and their leading bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi is ruled out from Asia cup because of a knee injury.  Pakistan will probably miss him against India because last year in world cup, he was one of the major cause of Pakistan's win over India. Indian team will also play without their top bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, so both teams will be equally strong. Warner is back in BBL              David Warner has signed a 2-year contract with Sydney Thunder. He will play for the first time since 2013, he scored 152 runs in 3 matches he played in BBL and out of those three, he played 2 matches for Sydney Thunder in which, he hit a fifty and a century. He would not be available for the whole season but he can play some matches in the league stage and will be available for the finals. 

Dissapointing batting of England                    English batters are still struggling to score runs, they lost the first match of 3-match Test series against South Africa by an innings and 12 runs because of their another poor batting effort. This is the first lose for them in the leadership of Stokes and McCullum.  Although Bairstow and Root are scoring consistently but whenever they got out early, England suffer from a batting collapse. In the first test match, England scored 165 in 1st innings whereas their total was less than 150 in 2nd innings, which caused an innings lose for them. They have to do much better than this in upcoming matches if they want series victory over Proteas. On the other hand, South African team is rising and they almost have found the balance in the side.Rabada is absolutely brilliant but the recent improvements in batting is biggest positive for them. They will have bright chances of playing the WTC final if they clinch their ser

Talking points                Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are in brilliant form and they can lead Pakistan to the victory against India in Asia Cup but Indian team is also strong enough to register another victory against their arch rivals. The depth in Indian team is absolutely stunning and Shikhar Dhawan is consistently doing well with the bat.  India vs Zimbabwe             India won the 1st ODI of 3-match ODI series easily and take the lead of 1-0. India dominated completely in this match. Firstly, bowlers restricted Zimbabwe on just 189 in 40.3 overs after winning the toss. Deepak Chahar made a brilliant comeback in the team by taking 3 wickets with the economy of 3.86, Prasidh Krishna and Axar Patel also got 3 wickets each. Dhawan(81) and Shubhman Gill(82) hit amazing fifties as India chased the target in just 30.4 overs. Zimbabwe was never in the game and lost the first match by 10 wickets. Pakistan vs Netherlands                    Netherlands batted first after

Asia Cup Although 6 teams will take part in Asia cup but India and Pakistan are the top two sides, who are most likely to play the final. India vs Pakistan is the second biggest rivalry after Ashes, which will be more interesting this time because Pakistan defeated India in T20 world cup last year. Indian fans are eagerly waiting for Asia cup so that India can take revenge from Pakistan but that is never going to be easy. Currently, India is no. 1 T20 rankings but Pakistan looks a bit more stronger and balanced than India. Jasprit Bumrah will not be the part of Indian team in Asia cup because of injury so Indian team will miss him not only because he was in form but also because Pakistani batting line up is too strong and almost all of their batters are in form. Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan are the top Pakistani players, who can contribute to both win and lose for Pakistan. Currently, both teams are playing ODI series against Netherlands a

Top run scorers in current WTC cycle 1. Joe Root                   Joe Root is in hot form in red ball cricket and is also on top of the list in ICC test rankings. He has scored 1744 runs in 16 matches with the stunning average of 64.59 and he has hit 8 centuries and 5 fifties.  Although his team is not in very good position in points table but he has been absolutely brilliant.  Jonny Bairstow                     2022 is probably the best year for Bairstow in test cricket and this WTC cycle is unforgettable for him because he has scored over 1200 runs in 13 matches with the brilliant average of 55. Babar Azam                      Babar Azam is performing consistently in every format, he is on 2nd position in ICC test rankings and he has ability to become number 1 according to Mahela Jayawardena. He is the third highest run getter so far in current WTC cycle with 953 runs at the unbelievable average of 63.

In the 3rd and last match of T20I series, West Indies registered a 8-wicket victory over Blackcaps and stopped their winning streak in white ball cricket. Now, both teams will play 3-match ODI series beginning from 17th of August. 1st innings: New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first but they were unable to score big. Only Glenn Phillips was impressive from New Zealand and because of his knock of 41 in 26, Kiwis made only 145 in 20 overs. Odean Smith took 3 wickets whereas Akeal Hosein grabbed 2 and both were economical also. 2nd innings: The target was not too challenging for West Indies and their openers made it effortless with their 100-run opening stand. Brandon King scored brilliant 53 and he got outstanding support from his partner Shamrah Brooks(56 in 59*) , who played an ODI knock and gave licence to other batters to score quickly. Powell ended the things well and West Indies chased the target with 8 wickets in hand and 6 balls remaining in the ga

ODI rankings: Babar Azam has continued his dominance in 50 over cricket as he is on top of the rankings with 892 rating, 77 more than Imam Ul Haq, who is on second.  According to Mahela Jayawardena, Babar can achieve the top spot in every format as he is making runs consistently. South African batter, Rassie Van Der Dussen is on third spot with 789 points.  Test rankings: In test rankings, Root is on top with his carrer best 923 rating followed by Labuchagne on 2nd with 885 points. Babar Azam is way behind Root as he has 879 points but he is consistently performing so he can achieve the top ranking in their next test series. T20I rankings: Babar Azam is on top with 818 points in T20I rankings whereas Suryakumar is on 2nd. At one stage, Suryakumar Yadav was quite close to him but he did not play the last match against WI, that's why now he has 805 points. Mohammad Rizwan is another Pakistani batter, who is in top three in T20I rankings. 

New Zealand defeated Caribbean team in a one sided contest and have clinched the series by winning first two matches. This is for the first time since T20 world cup final, when Williamson is leading the team in the white ball series. 1st innings: Kiwis posted a huge total of 215 while batting first in Kingston. Conway played impressively before the brilliant knocks of Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell. Phillips scored stunning 76 in just 41 balls whereas Mitchell took only 20 deliveries to make 48. All of the West Indian bowlers were quite expensive, Hayden Walsh Jr. leaked 55 runs in his 4 overs without taking any wicket. 2nd innings: West Indies were never in the game while chasing as they lost wickets continuously. Only 2 batters scored over 20 from the side, McCoy was the top scorer with 23 runs. They fell 91 runs short from the target and lost the match as well as series. Santner and Bracewell continued their dominance with the ball and both grabbed 3 wick

Previously, Shikhar Dhawan was named as Indian captain in Zimbabwe tour but now Rahul will lead the team as he is fit. India squad: KL Rahul(cap), Shikhar Dhawan(vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubhman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Deepak Chahar, Mohammad Siraj. Zimbabwe squad: Chakabva Regis(cap), Burl Ryan, Chivanga Tanaka, Evans Bradley, Jongwe Luke, Kaia Innocent, Kaitano Takudzwanashe, Madande Clive, Madhevere Wessley, Marumani Tadiwanashe, Masara John, Munyonga Tony, Ngarava Richard, Sikander Raza, Victor Nyauchi, Milton Shumba, Donald Tiripano. Zimbabwe recently won ODI series against Bangladesh and they were too impressive in those series. 

In the series opener, Blackcaps registered a 13 run victory over West Indies because of their impressive batting and Santner's brilliant bowling, who also became man of the match. The second match of 3-match T20I series will be played on 13th August at Kingston and after playing T20I series, both teams will compete in ODI format. 1st innings: West Indies won the toss and opted to field first, Guptill and Conway gave good start to the Kiwis. Nicholas Pooran took a stunner to send Guptill back and on the very next ball, Odean Smith got Conway's wicket.  Williamson made 47 on his come back and the quick knock of Neesham helped them to set the target of 186. Neesham is doing outstanding job consistently, he is probably the best finisher in the New Zealand team. 2nd innings: West Indies did not make very good start and they lost consecutive wickets while chasing. Shamrah Brooks was the top scorer from his side though his strike rate was below 100, which later