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“Found Kryptonite To Bazball”: Nasser Hussain Hails Pakistan’s Spinners On Win Against England

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Former England cricketer Nasser Hussain lauded Pakistan for a remarkable turnaround in fortunes to record a 2-1 series win against Three Lions at home, saying that the team found a “kryptonite” to England’s ‘Bazball’ approach to cricket. England’s attacking and positive brand of ‘Bazball’ cricket faced yet another setback as they once again succumbed to spinners in the subcontinent, with spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan shined with stunning bowling spells to hand Three Lions a nine-wicket loss in the third Test at Rawalpindi to secure a 2-1 series win.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Nasser lauded the team for removing batter Babar Azam and star pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah after their poor performances in the second Test and praised their spinners for being of “highest quality”. He also said that England players were not very good at playing or bowling spin.

“Congratulations to Pakistan for making that change, they lost six Tests in a row, the fans and supporters were not happy. Different pitches and selectors and they found the kryptonite to Bazball,” said Nasser.

“They have spinners of the highest quality and they have players that play spin really well. It is exposed to England when the ball does spin. When it spins and it is gripping, England does not play spin or bowl spin as good as Pakistan,” he added.

Hussain also questioned England’s ability to play well on any other surface than a flat deck and said that discrepancies in England’s scores were a huge concern.

“There should be a discrepancy because the pitches have been so different from the first Test to the second and third. There is no doubt that scores should go down and spinners should go up. But, the discrepancy in the England side is a concern,” said Hussain.

“It should not be so drastic that you play so well on flat pitches and you can hit through the line but the moment it grips you cannot play like that and so then you are lost,” he added.

Coming to the match, England opted to bat first. After being reduced to 118/6, it was a counter-attacking century stand between Jamie Smith (89 in 119 balls, with five fours and six sixes) and Gus Atkinson (39 in 71 balls, with five fours) that took England to 267.

Sajid (6/128) and Noman (3/88) were the top wicket-takers for Pakistan.

Thanks to a brilliant century from Saud Shakeel (134 in 223 balls, with five fours) and lower-order contributions from Noman (45) and Sajid (48), Pakistan reached a score of 344 and gained a 77-run lead.

Rehan Ahmed (4/66) and Shoaib Bashir (3/129) were the top wicket-takers for England.

England could not build a healthy lead for themselves, skittling out for 112 runs in their second innings with Joe Root (33) and Harry Brook (26) top-scoring. They could only gain a 35-run lead.

Sajid (4/69) and Noman (6/42) were the top bowlers for Pakistan, who chased down the 36-run target effortlessly to win the series 2-1.

Shakeel was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his century.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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“I Am Nobody”: Kapil Dev’s Intriguing Take As Gambhir, Rohit Face Flak Over Harshit Rana Selection

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File photo of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma© BCCI/Sportzpics




Team India’s 10-wicket loss in the pink-ball Test against Australia at Adelaide has prompted calls for changes in the team. Rookie pacer Harshit Rana went wicket-less in Adelaide, with his selection putting head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma in the line of fire. Some even allege that Harshit’s selection in the XI was down to his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) connection with Harshit. When former India captain Kapil Dev was asked about the controversy regarding selection matter, he gave a rather intriguing response.

Kapil Dev, one of India’s legendary cricketers, feels it is not his responsibility to judge such calls made by the team management. Hence, his opinion doesn’t make a difference.

“I am a nobody. How can I judge? There are people up there who have the responsibility to decide who should be in the team,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Vishwa Samudra Open, a PGTI event set to begin at the Delhi Golf Club.

Kapil expressed his confidence on the team management’s ability to select the best possible team and get the work done in Australia.

“We shouldn’t talk. My former colleagues are sitting there, and I hope they will do a good job,” he said.

India vs Australia 3rd Test

With the series 1-1, India face a daunting task ahead of them as the players group together for the third match of the series in Brisbane. Known for producing daunting bouncy pitches, handling Australian pacers at the Gabba is expected to be a tricky task for Indian batters.

India also have to get the maximum possible wins out of the next three matches of the series if they are to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final. At present, India are placed third in the points table, with South Africa and Australia occupying the top 2 spots.

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Shaheen Afridi Scripts History, Becomes First Pakistan Player In History To…

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Shaheen Afridi claimed 3 wickets in 1st T20I vs South Africa© AFP




Ace seamer Shaheen Afridi etched his name in the history book by becoming Pakistan’s first bowler to take 100 wickets in each format of international cricket. In the first innings of the opening T20I against South Africa in Durban here on Tuesday night, Shaheen struck once in the powerplay, then in the middle phase and once towards the end to complete a three-wicket haul and arrive at the rare feat. With a three-wicket haul, Shaheen completed 100 T20I wickets and became the first Pakistan bowler to have 100 wickets in each format. Apart from T20Is, the 24-year-old left-arm seamer boasts 112 scalps in ODIs and 116 in Test cricket.

With his record-shattering spell, he also the became third Pakistani bowler to achieve 100 T20I wickets, behind Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.

Shaheen hit the three-digit figure milestone in his 74th T20I game for Pakistan. He became the second-fastest to take 100 T20I wickets for Pakistan after scorching pacer Haris Rauf, who achieved the feat in 71 T20I matches.

Overall, Shaheen became the youngest to achieve the feat and joined the ranks of New Zealand’s Tim Southee, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga.

Coming to the match, Shaheen cleaned up Rassie van der Dussen for a golden duck with a pinpoint yorker. He came back to send in-form David Miller before he could bring up a well-deserved century.

In the last, he trapped Nqabayomzi Peter in front of the stumps to claim his 100th T20I wicket and enter the exclusive club. Shaheen ended the first T20I with figures of 3/22 in his four-over spell.

Despite Shaheen’s heroics, Pakistan fell to a narrow 11-run defeat. While chasing a challenging total of 184, skipper Mohammad Rizwan found no support from the other end. His 74 drove Pakistan’s score but it wasn’t enough to take the visitors past the finishing line.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Another Twist In Mohammed Shami Tale, Pacer Not Flying To Australia After Rohit Sharma’s Revelation

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File photo of Mohammed Shami© BCCI/Sportzpics




With the Indian team in desperate need of bowling reinforcements in Australia, the wait for veteran pacer Mohammed Shami to join the team continues. It looked like Shami could be ready to feature in the final two Tests of the series but his fitness concerns have prevented the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from flying him Down Under anytime soon. India captain Rohit Sharma was asked about Shami’s status after the conclusion of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Rohit kept the door open for Shami but refused to give any timeline.

The India captain also suggested that the pacer is dealing with a swollen knee problem as he prepares to regain match fitness in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Bengal.

A report in the Indian Express claimed that Shami has undergone a fresh fitness test which indicates that the pacer isn’t yet ready for 5-day cricket. Hence a flight to Australia anytime soon can be ruled out. But, Shami will feature in Bengal’s quarterfinal against Baroda at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where his fitness and knee issues could be put under another test.

There are doubts about whether Shami is ready to bowl lengthy spells in the red-ball format, considering he is facing swollen knee issues even as he is bowling 4 overs for Bengal’s T20 side.

Since making a comeback to competitive cricket, Shami has featured in one Ranji Trophy and has also played in each of Bengal’s seven matches so far in the SMAT, shining both with the ball and the bat.

What Rohit Sharma said about Mohammed Shami’s situation

Rohit didn’t sound too optimistic about Shami’s potential return, highlighting the knee issues that the veteran pacer continues to face. The India captain asserted that he doesn’t want to rush Shami back into the team unless he is assured of his 100% fitness.

“We want to be more than 100% sure with him because it has been a long time. We don’t want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. There are some professionals monitoring, we will take a call based on what those guys feel. They are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. But the door is open for him to come and play anytime,” Rohit had said.

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