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Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi led Pakistan's spirited bowling display with a four-wicket haul to help the touring side skittle Sri Lanka out for 222 on the first day of the opening test in Galle on Saturday.
Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi led an inspired attack to bowl out Sri Lanka for 222 but the hosts hit back with two wickets before stumps on the opening day of the first Test on Saturday. The tourists reached 24 for two at the close of play in Galle after losing their openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique. Azhar Ali, on three, and skipper Babar Azam, on one, were batting at close of play with Pakistan still trailing by 198 runs. Fast bowler Kasun Rajitha trapped Imam leg before wicket for two and Prabath Jayasuriya took down Shafique for 13 with his left-arm spin on a day dominated by the bowlers.
Star India batter Virat Kohli is going through a rough patch with the bat. He has not been able to score big in recent time and he last scored a century back in 2019. Kohli was dismissed on 16 off 25 deliveries in the second ODI against England. Kohli's form has been concern for the Indian team, and some experts have opined that the former India skipper needs to spend some time with his family and take break from cricket. The 33-year-old has struggled against length deliveries outside-off too. While pointing out that technology has changed how the sport is played nowadays, Kohli, in some ways, is "similar to Javed Miandad" as both haven't relied too much on data, according to former Pakistan cricket team captain Rashid Latif.
Virat Kohli's slump with the bat has become the talk of the town. The star batter last scored a century in 2019, and since then the three-figure mark has eluded him. Kohli was dismissed on 16 off 25 balls in the second ODI against England, which prompted Pakistan captain Babar Azam to put out a tweet in favour of him. Kohli has now reacted to Babar's tweet. Taking to Twitter, Kohli thanked Babar for his support, and wished him luck. Notably, Babar is currently leading Pakistan for a two-match Test series against Pakistan.
IPL is all set to have its dedicated two and half month exclusive window from the next Futures Tours & Programme (FTP) calender of the ICC starting 2024, with no international cricket scheduled in that phase. That the T20 extravaganza would be a "two-and-a-half-month" affair from the next FTP was confirmed by PTI in an exclusive interview with BCCI secretary Jay Shah on the sidelines of the blockbuster IPL media rights deal last month. "Let me inform you that from the next ICC FTP calendar, IPL will have an official two-and-a-half month window so that all the top international cricketers can participate.
Virat Kohli is one of the most talked about cricketers, and off late, his slump in form has become the talk of the town. The right-handed batter had last scored an international ton in 2019 and since then, the three-figure mark has kept on evading him. Off late, there has been a huge support for Kohli, coming from all parts of the world, and in a latest, former England captain Kevin Pietersen on Saturday asked Kohli to be proud and walk tall.
Due to political protests around the country and especially in the capital Colombo the second Test between Sir Lanka and Pakistan might be moved to Galle. As per the ESPNcricinfo, fearing the logistical challenges that might arrive arise to the political protests in the capital, there is a possibility the second Test match might be moved to the Galle stadium. The first Test is also happening in Galle right now which also hosted the last three Test matches. Galle also saw a protest recently on July 9 which was on the second day of the test between Sri Lanka and Australia but the match wasn't affected because of it as the scale of the crowd wasn't as big as during the Colombo protests.
South Africa this week pulled out of a three-match bilateral one-day series in Australia in January as it clashes with their new domestic Twenty20 competition. The next cycle of the Future Tours Programme (FTP), which lays down which national sides play where and when, is set to be confirmed later this month at the annual conference of the ICC, the global governing body, in Birmingham. Franchise cricket is likely to dominate the busy international calendar, which also includes ICC events like the World Cups in all formats. "The growth of franchise cricket is impacting the already-crammed international cricket calendar," PCB chief executive Faisal Hasnain said in a statement.