Stuart Broad starred with both bat and ball as England pressed for victory in the fourth and final Test against Pakistan after the finish of third day. Pakistan’s dismal show continued as they allowed Broad and Trott to score quick runs in the first session. Broad’s sparkling 169, his maiden first-class century, helped England to a first innings total of 446, with his stand of 332 with Jonathan Trott, who made a painstaking 184, a new Test world record for the eighth wicket.

Click here for more…

England played their finest fightback in test cricket with Jonathon Trott and Stuart Broad both smashes a magnificent hundreds after early collapse on Day 2. At the start of the day English batsman were struggling against the Pakistan bowling attack and lost 4 quick wickets. Mohammad Aamer picked up 4 straight wickets without a run being conceded left England striving to save themselves. At one point England were 102/7 when J Trott and S Broad build a huge partnership and took the game away from the Pakistan. Pakistan were in full control of the innings but some weird bowling changes and field placement by skipper Salman Butt helped England to dominate in the end.

Click here for more…

India and Sri Lanka have been playing a lot of cricket in past 2 year and they are yet again competing for the trophy in the Tri-Series final. Both of these team have been playing so much cricket since Asia Cup 2008 but now they will take breathe as their is no such series scheduled for them till the ICC World Cup 2011. This is a final match of the series but the only positive about the match is obviously the team morale and the most important team assessment. Teams will know where both of them are lacking and work needs to be done. India have not been on their very best from the start of the Tri-Series but performing under pressure situation have helped them to reach the finals. Virender Sehwag in undoubtedly in his supreme form taking India from no where to series final. He is one player that has performed brilliantly and every runs from his bat will make a difference in the finals. India always have a strong batting line-up but in this series they were not able to perform. Indians batsman were struggling both against kiwis and the Sri Lankans and this is high time for them to perform. Bowling will be crucial in the finals and team needs to back their bowlers so as to win the series.

Click here for more…

Only 12.3 overs were bowled on the first day of the 4th Test match, where England scored 39 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. Almost whole day was lost due to rains and when we had some play, Pakistan struck early with the wicket of Strauss. Asif took the prized wicket of Strauss after he played on to a delivery which landed on good length and straightened. Apart from this entertainment was provided by the persistent rain which halted play for most of the time.

Click here for more…

The fourth and the final Test match between England and Pakistan will be played from August 26 at the Lord’s. England still lead 2-1 after they had lost the Oval Test match and would have realised that the battle is far from over. While England will still go into the game as favourites, they will now realise how much difference can a couple of changes make. Pakistan on the other hand, will look to carry on with the momentum that they earned at Oval, and look to hit the English hard where it really matters – their batting.

Click here for more…

Today India will play New Zealand in the last league game of the Micromax Cup tri-series at Dambulla. Sri Lanka is the third team in the competition and has already qualified for the final, and the winner of this India-New Zealand game will face the Lankans in the final. Both the sides, India and New Zealand have won one game out of three matches. However, while New Zealand has lost one, India have beaten twice in the competition, and both have been by thumping margins.

For the Indians, they need to bat a lot better than they have in the series so far. The two losses were thanks to the abysmal performance with the bat – getting out for 88 and 103 respectively. Virender Sehwag has been the lone saving grace so far, but the rest of the top-order can, at best, be described as rusty. Yuvraj Singh’s 38 in the previous game against Sri Lanka showed signs of improvement, but for the Indians to get the better of their opposition, they also need their senior middle-order, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni to fire.

Click here for more…

It is critical situation now in the tri series as hosts Sri Lanka take on India in their final and must win encounter league game on Sunday, the 22nd of August at Dambulla. Being the only team to have failed to pick up a bonus point yet, Sri Lanka currently has 6 points and are second behind New Zealand, who are on 7. Their wash-out against New Zealand though, means that the game against India becomes a must win encounter for Kumar Sangakkara’s men, failing which, elimination is a certainty.

After the sound defeat against New Zealand, India rebounded back well to restrict Sri Lanka to 170 and chase the target in quick time to pick up the vital bonus point. Despite the easy win though, and in spite of a commendable showing from the suspect bowling attack, the batting has been the real worry for Dhoni’s men. It was thanks to a typically fabulous innings of 99 from Virender Sehwag that India’s campaign was brought back on track but apart from him, the rest of the batting has failed to deliver the goods in both games. The bowling unit has looked better oiled though, with Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar sharing the wickets and Pragyan Ojha supporting them well.

Click here for more…

Another great for the Pakistanis with Aamer and Ajmal giving Pakistan full control of the game. For the first time in the test series so far Pakistan are in a dominating position and can run their game in their own way. On day 3 of 3rd test Pakistan bowlers gave the team a brilliant come back with both Aamer and Ajmal picking up 4 wickets each. Play ended when bad light interrupted the game and England were 221/9. Pakistan needs just the last wicket and England lead by mere 146 runs.

Click here for more…

Pakistan are in the drivers seat for the first time in the Test series. They scored 308 runs in the first innings, thereby leading by 75 runs. Their batting was led by Yousuf and Ali, who have set up this game, taking Pakistan beyond 300. The presence of Yousuf seemed to inspire Ali, who looked more confident than at Edgbaston when he labored for 19 runs in 82 balls. The only disappointment for Pakistan was for Ali, who played brilliantly but was left stranded on 92 in the end.

Click here for more…

Day 1 was fantastic day for Pakistan and just what this series needed. Wahab Riaz was the star for Pakistan as he became the 9th Pakistani to take 5 wickets on debut. Pakistan used the cloudy conditions to their advantage to reduced England to 94 for 7 after being asked to field first by Andrew Strauss. But a record 8th wicket stand between Prior and Broad for England against Pakistan helped their side to stage a recovery. Despite their efforts England’s 233 was still below par as Wahab Riaz took 5 for 63 on his debut Test.

Click here for more…