Posts

West Indies announce squads for India white-ball tour

Image
Cricket West Indies have announced their squads for the upcoming limited-overs tour of India, with Shai Hope set to captain both the ODI and T20I sides. The tour will comprise three ODIs and five T20Is, with the first ODI scheduled for September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram. The series will run until October 17, with matches being played across eight Indian cities. The ODI squad retains the core group that featured in West Indies’ recent home series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. John Campbell returns after missing the final two ODIs against New Zealand due to a hamstring injury, while Jewel Andrew has been included after Ackeem Auguste was ruled out as he continues his rehabilitation following surgery. The T20I squad features several familiar names, including Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hosein, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd. Hetmyer, who featured in the final two matches of the New Zealand series, will join the squad for the T20I le...

ZIM-W vs SA-W, 5th T20I: Zimbabwe’s Improved Show Not Enough as South Africa Seal 5-0 Series Win

Image
Zimbabwe vs South Africa, 5th WT20I (PC: Proteas Women) It was a much better all-round show from Zimbabwe, but it was still not enough to avoid another defeat in the five-match WT20I series against South Africa. The Proteas completed the clean sweep with a 14-run win in Bulawayo in the fifth match and secured a 5-0 series victory in the first-ever WT20I bilateral series between the two sides. Heading into the final game on September 19, the home side’s bowling form was concerning. Zimbabwe had conceded 190-plus in all three matches in which they bowled first – 193/3 in the second T20I, 200/1 in the third and 205/4 in the fourth. However, in the fifth game, their bowling unit produced a much-improved performance, restricting the visitors to 164/6. Michelle Mavunga, the 21-year-old medium-pacer, starred with a three-wicket haul. For South Africa, both openers, Miane Smit (30 off 22) and Faye Tunicliffe (25 off 13), got starts, but it was the fifth-wicket partnership of 75 between Kayl...

Asian Games 2026, Women’s Cricket Semi-finals: India favourites against Bangladesh, Pakistan face stern challenge against Sri Lanka

Image
India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan in Asian Games 2026 (PC: BCCI Women, ACC, ICC) The semi-finals of women’s cricket at the Asian Games are scheduled for September 20, and it is an exact repeat of the semi-finals that took place in the recent Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai. At Korogi Sports Park, Sri Lanka will first take on Pakistan, followed by India facing Bangladesh. India vs Bangladesh The Women in Blue arrived at this event after winning the recent Asia Cup, their eighth time overall, and registered a convincing eight-wicket win over hosts Japan in the quarter-final. While chasing a target of just 58, India tried different options, sending G Kamalini to open the innings and Bharti Fulmali at No. 3. However, neither made a significant impact. Against Bangladesh, India are expected to return to their conventional approach in every department. The only question will be who bats at No. 3 if Pratika Rawal does not return to the playing XI. Will it be skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, k...

BCCI doubles down on Asia Cup trophies

Image
Devajit Saikia (Image: Assam Cricket Association) The BCCI has doubled down on its assertion of bringing the Asia Cup trophies — men’s and women’s — to India in the future. India are the reigning champions in both men’s and women’s categories. “(The) Asia Cup trophies, we hope it will come one day,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told reporters after the cricket board’s 95th Annual General Meeting on Friday. “I will not give you a timeline, but I can assure you that both the trophies will come and land up in this office (headquarters) of the BCCI.” Last Sunday, after winning the women’s Asia Cup in Dubai, Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates followed the Indian men’s team and refused to accept the trophy. It came along expected lines. The BCCI had informed the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in advance that if the Asian body’s president Mohsin Naqvi attended the presentation ceremony and India won the title, the team wouldn’t accept the trophy from him. Apart from helming the ACC, Naqvi is...

Asian Games 2026: India, Sri Lanka Cruise into Semi-Finals After Dominant Quarter-Final Wins

Image
PC- Left: ICT instagram account, Right: Sri Lankan Cricket instagram account In the women’s cricket quarter-final of the Asian Games, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, setting up a strong total before restricting Malaysia to 74/7. With the win, Sri Lanka booked their place in the semi-final, where they will face Pakistan. Sri Lanka posted 158/4, led by Chamari Athapaththu’s 63 off 37 balls. She rebuilt the innings after an early run-out and added 23 with Hasini Perera. Kavisha Dilhari’s 42 off 25 provided the late acceleration as Sri Lanka scored 58 in the final six overs. Malaysia’s chase struggled from the start, slipping to 25/3 by the sixth over. Winifred Duraisingam (28 off 47) and Mahirah Izzati Ismail (24 off 42) tried to rebuild, but the scoring rate remained low. Sri Lanka kept taking wickets at the death, restricting Malaysia to 74/7 in 20 overs. In the second quarterfinal of the day, India faced Japan and sealed a dominant victory by 8 wickets. Winning th...

Rohit Sharma has earned the right to play on – let’s stop predicting his retirement

Image
  Rohit Sharma (PC: BCCI) Rohit Sharma has been picked for the West Indies series, which begins on 27 September. After everything that happened in England, and with many writing his epitaph after Cardiff, his selection – normally routine – had become a subject of considerable media interest. Now that it is done and dusted, let me say something we don’t wish to see in the next few days: please, let’s not start saying the West Indies series will be Rohit’s last. This has been going on for close to a year and is becoming increasingly boring and predictable. It cannot continue to be a constant talking point ahead of every series, because it helps neither Rohit nor Indian cricket. That Rohit would be selected was always a given. Lord’s had cemented the deal, and there was never an iota of doubt that Rohit wants to play on. Having put in the amount of effort he has, he wants to prove a point and score runs for India. Only if he fails consistently over a sustained period can the sele...

Ahilya Chandel ‘keen’ to meet Smriti Mandhana, says India clash at Asian Games ‘good opportunity’

Image
Ahilya Chandel for Japan and with Smriti Mandhana (PC: Ahilya Insta) Ahilya Chandel, the 23-year-old all-rounder from the Japan Women’s cricket team, first caught the attention of Indian fans when she served as a net bowler for Delhi Capitals (DC) during their 2025 WPL campaign. Now, she is set to be part of a historic occasion as hosts Japan take on India Women in the quarter-final of the Asian Games at Karogi Sports Park, Nisshin, on September 18.  Ahilya has been a consistent performer for Japan. She is currently their highest wicket-taker in WT20Is, with 41 wickets in 48 innings. With the bat, she occupies the No. 4 spot and has scored 407 runs in 43 innings.  Ahead of facing the Women in Blue on home soil, Ahilya spoke exclusively to RevSportz about Japan’s excitement at facing India, her eagerness to meet Smriti Mandhana, the possible pitch conditions, how the game could impact the growth of women’s cricket in Japan and much more.  She made no secret of her exci...