Cricket Zelo

With the first match ending in a draw and the third one being favored by the rain gods, the 5-match series was effectively a 3-match series now. And with England winning the second one in Edgbaston, Sri Lanka was left with no option than to win the last two contests in order to clinch the ODI series. Having won the toss, England captain, Eoin Morgan put the visitors to bat. England had included Moeen Ali in place of Chris Jordan whereas Sri Lanka was unchanged. Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka were sent in to face the new ball. It was not too long before England tasted first blood. In the second over, Jonny Bairstow's direct under-arm throw found Perera short of the crease. Kusal Mendis joined Gunathilaka in the middle and the young duo fought fire with fire. In no time, Gunathilaka and Mendis crossed the 50-run mark. They were 64-1 by the end of the first powerplay. Spin in the form of Adil Rashid was introduced in the 11th over but to no effect. Boundaries coming in at r

At Nottingham, the first ODI was perhaps nothing short of some screenplay written by a renowned story writer. A target of 287 was at one time not worth considering for England. The host team had lost six wickets before reaching 100. Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes then came into the rescue act. The duo added 138 for the seventh wicket. Woakes' 92-ball 95* emerged as the highest score by a No. 8 batsman in ODIs. All these deeds and still there was no winner. The match ended in a tie. When seven runs were required of the ultimate ball, Liam Plunkett smashed Nuwan Pradeep for a six. Call it the long haul of both teams that both of them deserved not to be o n the losing side or their errors which did not want any of them to be on the winning side. The second ODI, which will be played in Birmingham today will bring with it a scope for one team to end up on the winning side. Eoin Morgan would want to grab that scope. And so would Angelo Mathews. England is likely to remain unchanged.

Another toss won by MS Dhoni. Another batting crumble for Zimbabwe. Another facile target for India. Another comprehensive Indian victory. The story has been same. As has been the characters. India defeated Zimbabwe by 9 wickets in the first ODI and by 8 wickets in the second ODI today. After Dhoni put the host team to bat, their fall down began in the fifth over itself. Hamilton Masakadza went against a Barinder Sran half-volley, only managing to hit it straight in the hands of Jasprit Bumrah, who was fielding at third man. Sran picked up his second wicket in his next over when an unlucky Peter Moor was adjourned leg before the wicket. In the replay, hawkeye suggested that the ball would have missed the stumps. Chamu Chibhabha was the next man to go when Dhawal Kulkarni trapped him in front of the stumps in the 10th over. Zimbabwe was 39-3 after 10 overs. The top order had perished. The damage was done. Vusi Sibanda and Sikandar Raza did the repair work. The duo added 67 runs f

A week's break is very seldom in a tri-series these days but the schedule of the West Indies Tri-Nation series has allowed it to the home team. West Indies would want to forget their last outing against the world champions, Australia. The hosts were bundled out for 116 in the 33rd over. Australia then achieved the target with almost half the overs remaining. The match will be the best shot for West Indies in order to make an upturn in the series, by and large when David Warner has been ruled out of this match or perhaps the whole series due to a fractured finger. Absence of an in-form batsman like him will beyond any doubt devastate the whole team. Jason Holder would not want to storm in changes after the last defeat. The 24-year old West Indian captain would be awaiting of more responsibility from his batsmen. Given their amount of talent, the top order of West Indies will have to resist the temptation to play 'horrible shots'. Andre Fletcher and Johnson Charles would w

Sydney. Colombo. And now Harare. As of now, Lokesh Rahul has scored three centuries in his 6-match international career. The latest one been scored on his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in Harare. The 24-year old right-hand batsman has yet again proved his ability to play big innings. An ability to convert the 30's and the 40's to international centuries. Being the 213th cricketer to represent India in ODI cricket, this inning also saw him becoming the first Indian batsman and  11th overall  to score a century on debut. Lokesh Rahul was declared the Man of the Match. Having won the toss in the 1st ODI of India's tour to Zimbabwe, Mahendra Singh Dhoni put the host team to bat. Barinder Sran was out of luck when umpire Russell Tiffin did not rule Chamu Chibhabha out on the first ball that the left-arm medium-fast bowler bowled. However, his constant in-swing got rid of Peter Moor on the last delivery of the same over. It was just the opening for Indian bowlers. Many more

The series might have had it's winner decided in the first two test matches. But the third test at Lord's cannot be called a 'dead rubber'. Such is the aura of this historical venue. Despite winning the series, England has a lot to take from this game. It will be a litmus test for some of their players who have not raised the bar in terms of individual performance. More than anything, pride is at stake for Sri Lanka. Having won the 2-match series 1-0 in 2014, the Sri Lankan side is trailing 2-0 at the moment with the last match pending. The island nation has been bogged down by injuries in this series. To add to that, is Shaminda Eranga, who has been reported for a suspect action in the previous match. The chances is that he will be rested for this match. Left-arm medium-fast bowler, Chaminda Bandara is all but set to debut at Lord's in Eranga's absence. Kusal Mendis will go all guns blaze at No. 3. Dasun Shanaka, who displayed an impressive performance

Just about a month ago, 189 was well within the reach of the team featuring AB de Villiers. But only in 20 overs. What failed them was their inability to defend the total. You must have got a hint that I'm talking about Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. And now de Villiers' national team, South Africa, has defended the same total in 50 overs. Call it the change of team (from Royal Challengers to South Africa), change of format (from T20 to ODI), change of place (from India to West Indies) or whatever but the supra has been done. Rabada and spinners helped South Africa in winning the first match of the series. The third match of the West Indies Tri-Nation series saw Australia and South Africa locking horns against each other. The Proteas were coming after a defeat at the hands of West Indies whereas Australia defeated West Indies with a bonus point. Having won the toss, de Villiers chose to bat in spin-friendly conditions. It was the first time

Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed 16 runs off 4 deliveries against Sri Lanka to win the final of the Tri-series that was hosted by West Indies in 2013. Three years down the line, West Indies are again on the verge of laying on another Tri-series, with Australia and South Africa being the other two teams. As has been the case with some teams, West Indies will play it's first ODI series in this T20-dominated year. West Indies and South Africa will lock horns in Guyana for the first match of this Tri-series. The home team has, as usual, a lot to prove. There were speculations regarding the selection of the team. Stars in Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell were not included in the squad. The reason being that the quadruplet did not feature in the nation's domestic 50-overs competition. However, Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard were incorporated in the side despite not playing that tournament. Jason Holder will be back in action as far as international cricket