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Kohli_Rohit (PC: BCCI) India batter Rinku Singh wants Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play in and be part of the 2027 World Cup-winning team, as it could be the last mega event for both former captains. With age not on their side, it is largely expected that next year’s World Cup on the African continent could be the last for both Kohli and Rohit. In recent months, there has been a lot of uncertainty around Rohit’s participation, given his fitness concerns and the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal in ODIs. However, Rinku has expressed his desire to see Kohli and Rohit lift the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 trophy. “They are legends, both Virat bhaiya and Rohit bhaiya,” Rinku said while speaking to JioStar. “Not just me, but the entire nation hopes that they play in the World Cup and are part of the team that goes on to win it. It would be a huge moment for the whole country, as who knows, it could be their last World Cup. So, it would be huge if they can win it for India. It would be hu...

Mike Hesson, PC: PCB A year ago, Suryakumar Yadav, then India’s T20I captain, spoke about why India-Pakistan was no longer a “rivalry”. Once a great on-field contest between the two subcontinental giants, India have now stolen a march on their arch-rivals. In Tests, while India are currently fourth, Pakistan have slipped to ninth, just above Zimbabwe, in the ICC rankings. In ODIs, the difference is No. 1 and No. 5, while in T20Is, India are first and Pakistan sixth. No wonder, then, that ahead of the Pakistan team’s departure for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, head coach Mike Hesson admitted India’s superiority. The season of upheaval in Pakistan cricket has seen Hesson take charge of the red-ball squad as well, in the middle of a forgettable Test series in England. Cricket at the Asian Games will be played in the T20 format, and Hesson, the New Zealander, defended the team’s performances under his charge. “Obviously, the Test team is struggling,” he told reporters in Karachi on...

Shams Mulani celebrating her four-for against Australia A. (PC: Screengrab/BCCI Domestic) Shams Mulani weaved a web of spin around Australia A’s batters as India A took firm control on Day 2 of the first unofficial Test in Puducherry. With the pitch offering enough encouragement, the left-arm spinner picked his moments to strike and finished with 4/67 as the visitors were dismissed for 171. Beyond Jason Sangha’s determined 46, there was little to cheer about for the visitors. None of the other Australia A batters could get past 30, and their inability to string together partnerships left them trailing India A by 163 runs. India A’s pacers made the ball talk and struck early, paving the way for Mulani to work his magic with the old ball. The left-arm spinner ran through the middle order to finish as India A’s best bowler with figures of 4/67. Regarded as one of the better players of spin, Peter Handscomb was beaten by the trajectory of the ball as he misjudged the length and lost hi...

Anika Learoyd (PC: Cricket Australia) Australia A Women won a high-scoring thriller in Mohali on Wednesday (September 23) as they chased down a mammoth target of 339 with two wickets in hand against India A Women. In the second unofficial ODI, the visitors pulled off a remarkable effort to keep themselves alive in the three-match series. While chasing, Nicole Faltum was dismissed cheaply, but a counter-attacking 76-run partnership for the second wicket between skipper Tahlia Wilson and Anika Learoyd set the tone. Anika smashed 54 off 29 balls, striking at 186.20, to provide exactly the kind of start Australia A would have wanted while chasing such a massive target. While Wilson continued to settle at one end, Charli Knott, batting at number four, also played an aggressive 63-run knock off 37 balls, striking at 170.27. India A’s spinners, who played a significant role in their win in the first unofficial ODI, were negotiated well by the Australians, especially Vaishnavi Sharma and Am...

PC – BCCI The historic one-off T20I between India and Japan in Sano turned out to be a cliffhanger. In a rain-curtailed low-scoring affair, India edged out Japan by two runs as the hosts finished up with 30 in a chase of 33. Washington Sundar chipped in with two wickets while Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming top-scored for Japan with 12. In the last over, with eight runs needed for an epoch-making win, there was enough drama. Axar Patel ended up bowling two successive wides, but one of them was overturned by the umpires, with Alexander Shirai-Patmore attempting a reverse sweep. On replays, it seemed like a wide. Japan needed four off the last ball but Alexander Shirai-Patmore could only eke out a single. As he made his way to the non-striker’s end, he could only look heavenwards in disappointment.  Earlier, the start of the game was delayed due to the wet outfield. After several inspections, the umpires decided that the field was fit for a game of cricket, with the game bein...

Korogi Athletic Park (PC: RevSportz) As you enter Korogi Athletic Park, the venue for cricket at the Asian Games, it feels more like a park than a sporting venue, with thousands of trees surrounding the ground. The first impression is that it is a decent venue that could host Ranji Trophy matches. Essentially, it is a baseball ground that has been converted into a cricket stadium. How big is the ground? The ground is big enough to meet international cricket standards, but the boundaries are short, measuring 60 yards from the centre of the wicket in every direction. One reason for the short boundaries is that the surface near the players’ dugouts is not completely flat. Nagoya experienced 18 consecutive days of rain before the Asian Games, the heaviest rainfall in 136 years. As a result, the minimum boundary distance of 60 yards was approved. The boundary length for the men’s T20 event has not yet been decided. In the women’s final, India posted a massive 216/3, h...