Loy Cricket

Australia's injury-troubled all-rounder Shane Watson may have walked away from the international circuit in 2016, but he's far from done as far as T20 leagues are concerned. Eyebrows were raised when Chennai Super Kings raised the baton for the Aussie and snapped him up ahead of their anticipated return from a two-year spot-fixing ban this year. Particularly so after he'd struggled for form for the Royal Challengers Bangalore the previous year. But the senior pro, who has played all seasons but the 2009 one, turned in his best performance with 555 runs - beating his previous best shows in 2008 (472) and 2013 (543). Watson also saved his most devastating act for the final, and pummelled one of the best bowling attacks in the tournament - the Sunrisers Hyderabad - as CSK marked their return with a title triumph. Watson also hit form in last year's BBL with 331 runs at 36.77, and has featured in the Caribbean Premier League, Pakistan Super League as well as the T10...

Sri Lanka's leadership roulette continues with Lasith Malinga now being appointed as the limited-overs captain, and Niroshan Dickwella as his deputy, for the upcoming ODIs and a lone T20I in New Zealand. In the aftermath of home series defeats to England - first in Tests and then ODIs - Sri Lanka took the decision to overhaul the limited-overs side, particularly the 50-overs one for the way forward. The board took a big call in reinstating Angelo Mathews into the side, after dropping him for the England series, citing fitness concerns. The Mathews axing episode got quite ugly, with the all-rounder accusing the board of making him the scapegoat of an abysmal Asia Cup campaign. Sri Lanka will be without their lead spinner Akila Dananjaya, who is under suspension after being called for illegal bowling action. Upul Tharanga, who played just the first two of the five-match series against England (didn't bat in the first, scored a duck in the second) - has also been left out. ...

OUT: Das departs. Keemo Paul breaks the opening stand that was worth 45 runs. Holes out to Powell with a loose shot who takes an easy catch. Both teams are at the same score at this stage. Bangladesh have made a steady start. Bangladesh openers are in the middle. Here we go. Windies finish with 198/9. Hope was spectacular once again. Batted through the innings to finish unbeaten on 108. Had almost no support at the other end. Proof of that being the next-best score of 19 from Marlon Samuels. Can WI defend this? Join us for the chase. Hope isn't feeling too well. Has called for the physio after feeling a bit dizzy. Three balls in the innings to go. He does it in style! Back to back centuries for Hope! Gets there with a six! ROACH DEPARTS: Given leg-before to Mashrafe. Windies one wicket away from being bowled out. Hope is unbeaten on 93. Will he get his century? KEEMO PAUL FALLS! Mortaza strikes. Bowled him! The leg-stump is uprooted. The little partnership that fetc...

Stumps What a day! On a tough pitch, Australia's batsmen have helped them get slightly ahead of the game. They will, however, be disappointed with some of the shots they were dismissed by. They could've been in a much stronger position if only they had applied themselves more. For India, their bowlers have toiled hard, and have ensured they have kept them in the game. They will want to wrap up the innings before Australia's score reaches an ominous size. AUSTRALIA 277/6 Marsh, Head fall India find their success late in the day, and they are big wickets too. Shaun Marsh falls to India's rather weird plan of letting the batsmen cut. Marsh opts for it, and only edges to Rahane at slips, who doesn't miss out. Head then turns headless as the new ball is taken. A wild drive to a wide delivery from Ishant sees the ball fly to third man, where Shami takes the catch. Two half centurions depart as Stumps loom. Australia will be kicking themselves. Pant drops Marsh...

Windies' skipper, Rovman Powell, at the toss said that his side needed to bat better if they were to win. However, proceedings were eerily familiar to what has been witnessed throughout Windies' tour of Bangladesh where the batsmen copped another collective failure, being restricted to 198 for 9 on Friday (December 14) in Sylhet, minus the spectacular Shai Hope, who scored his second successive century in the third and final ODI. It was of little surprise that Bangladesh opted to bowl on a dry wicket. Mehidy Hasan bowled eight overs on the trot, and sent back Chandrapaul Hemraj and Darren Bravo in his prolonged spell, giving little away as Windies made a slow start. Hope, however, once again, led Windies' hope of posting a good total for almost the entire innings, but some reckless shots from the other end, kept the partnerships at bay, with Hope constantly in pursuit of building partnerships from his end. What the failure of the other batsmen also did was up the signif...

Australia are making the most of their solid start here. A fifty run stand for the openers, and India will start to get desperate for the opening wicket. Harris and Aaron Finch helped Australia off to a great start © Getty India lose DRS Superb start from Shami. He beats Finch's defence and India opt for the DRS. Unfortunately for them, the ball is bouncing over the stumps and India lose their first review. Steady Start for Australia It's been a pretty solid start so far for Australia. Both Harris and Finch have survived a few nervy moments, but have managed to hang in there. The Indian pacers too have been a tad wayward. Aaron Finch had a near miss with Virat Kohli missing a chance to run him out, but that apart there's been no clear cut chance for India. What's the new Perth wicket like? It's too early to judge based on what's happened in the first few overs thus far, but here's the last Shield game played at the venue to give you a hint of...

Evin Lewis, who pulled out of the limited-overs tour of India citing personal reasons, has been named in Windies's 15-man squad for the three T20Is in Bangladesh and Chairman of Selectors Courtney Browne "hopes to see a bigger commitment from him to Windies cricket." In other changes, Kesrick Williams and Sheldon Cottrell make their comebacks into the squad whereas Obed McCoy and Kieron Pollard, both part of the squad against India, miss out due to injuries. Andre Russell, who was ruled out on the eve of first T20I against India with knee injury, and Ashley Nurse, nursing a shoulder injury, haven't been picked. Sherfane Rutherford, the uncapped 20-year-old known for scoring 230 runs in eight matches for Windies B in Global T20 League, retains his place after not getting a game in India. The first T20I is on December 17 in Sylhet. Squad: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Fabian Allen, Kesrick Williams, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Evin Lewis,...

It may have been all Australia before the Lunch break, but India rallied back in style in the next by taking three Australian wickets in quick succession. Australia went into Tea at 145/3, with Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb at the crease. Australia started the session off in fine fashion. Harris got stuck in early and hit three quick boundaries before a single got him his first Test fifty, while Finch put away two full deliveries from Hanuma Vihari to the boundary before bringing up his second Test fifty. Australia's hundred came in a hurry, too, sandwiched between the two personal landmarks. Jasprit Bumrah's third spell turned the tables quite drastically. The right-armer had been found wanting in his first, and was only about average in the next. He was on the mark almost immediately in his third. He rapped Finch on the pads with his first ball, before a fuller follow-up caught the batsman plumb in front. Usman Khawaja had to play out an extremely testing phase from...

Mohammad Mithun and Mohammad Saifuddin have been named in the 15-man squad for the three-match T20I series against Windies. Abu Jayed, who didn't get a T20I game on the tour to West Indies, has been dropped. Sabbir Rahman is serving a six-month ban imposed by BCB and misses out, as does Mosaddek Hossain, who's just played for the Emerging side and hasn't been "rushed" into the side. Full Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah (Vice Captain), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Mohd. Mithun, Mohd. Saifuddin, Abu Hider Rony, Ariful Haque Mithun's upward curve in Bangladesh cricket continues. The 27-year-old wasn't a part of the side that toured West Indies, but impressed with his batting in the 2018 Asia Cup in Dubai. He also made his Test debut against Zimbabwe last month and hit a half-century. "We have included Mithun as we need a batsman down the order,...

Twice in the day, Australia looked in control of the game. They were in the driver's seat, and hardly looked in trouble. They proceeded to throw away both those dominant positions to end the day at 277/6. However, on a surface that looks like hard work for the batsmen, Australia seem to have reached a score that will give their bowlers a lot of confidence. The first three hours of the day belonged entirely to Australia. They won an important toss and elected to bat first, and Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris ensured they vindicated that decision by seeing off the new ball and the first session unscathed. India seemed to have bought all the hype about the spice in the wicket. Early on the opening day, the pitch wore a slightly less green dress than it had the previous day. There was still significant grass cover, but not really the kind that would send the creeps down batsmen spines. India, though, still found reason enough to ditch their main spin options and go with four frontl...