Indians breathe cricket, and lately, we are witnessing Test series all across Asia. India is playing New Zealand at home, Bangladesh is playing at Pakistan, and Sri Lanka is playing West Indies. Also, there is a growing concern for COVID- 19 new variant Omicron leading to some series postponements, especially in Africa. Let’s look at some scores and news about today cricket match and get some daily dose of breaking cricket news.
Latest Cricket matches, news, and updates
India and New Zealand’s 1st test at Kanpur ends in a nail-biting draw
We had an incredible finish to the first Test match between India and New Zealand, which ended in a thrilling draw, and NZ survived courtesy of some gritty defensive batting and bad light. Chasing a target of 284, New Zealand lost an early wicket in the form of opener Will Young at the end of day 4. Battling for a draw, New Zealand started day 5 on a positive note as they managed to complete the first session without losing a wicket.
Things only got interesting late in the third session as New Zealand lost 8 wickets and, staring down the barrel at 155/9, still 10 overs remaining in the day. The last pair of Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel managed to play out the remaining overs denying India a possible victory. Bad light ended the match prematurely, and both teams now need to win the 2nd Test match in Mumbai to clinch the series 1-0.
Pakistan needs 93 runs to get a lead of 1-0 in the Test series against Bangladesh
Pakistan won the 1st Test match against Bangladesh at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. After getting a lead of 44 runs in the first innings thanks to Taijul Islam’s 7/116, Bangladesh was blown away in the 2nd innings at 157/10. Shaheen Afridi shone in the 2nd innings as he took 5/32 and didn’t allow Bangladesh to get any momentum. Chasing a reasonable target of 202, Pakistan openers Ali and Shafique hit half-centuries and won today’s cricket match to go up 1-0.
Sri Lanka is off to a good start against WI, scoring 113/1 on the 1st day
Rain is not breaking cricket news, especially in Sri Lanka. In the first match between Sri Lanka vs. West Indies taking place at Galle stadium, the rain took away half the day. Later, Sri Lanka, led by Karunaratne, won the toss and opted to bat first. The openers batted well and knitted a 100-run partnership before Chase removed skipper Karunaratne for 42 runs. Sri Lanka ended the day at 113/1 in 34.4 overs and looked good. However, there is a rain forecast for the remaining four days, and Sri Lanka needs to move on to get a result.
COVID variant Omicron forces postponement of South Africa-Netherlands ODIs
COVID- 19 again becomes part of breaking cricket news as the South Africa-Netherlands ODI series gets postponed as the Omicron variant is creating many concerns among cricket organizers. Also, many countries, including the UK, USA, and European Union, are imposing bans on flights from SA, and hence the Netherlands team raised grave concerns. The first ODI ended with no result due to rain. The two teams agreed for postponement, and the remaining matches will be played in the 2023 ODI cycle.
India, A team, is playing in South Africa currently, and the senior Indian team is supposed to travel in December for 3 Tests, 3 ODI’s, and 4 T20’s. CSA hopes the tour will go on as per schedule but that will depend on the COVID-19 situation in December.
The new COVID variant has also not spared women’s cricket as the Women’s World Cup qualifier in Harare gets called off. Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the West Indies have qualified for the Women’s World Cup 2022 in New Zealand. A Sri Lankan support staff member tested positive for COVID-19, and the match between Sri Lanka and West Indies was halted on Nov 27th. The qualification for WC 2023 was thus decided according to team rankings based on tournament playing conditions as per the ICC report.
These were some of the latest updates from the world of cricket. COVID-19 is again creating problems with new variants, especially in South Africa, amid intense cricket. Stay tuned to find out what happens next!