Hello and a warm welcome to all our readers, cricket is going in full swing in this season and there is some good news for Pakistan cricket fans. We will talk about 5 cricket news of the week.
Let's start our blog
1. HBL PSL has moved to Lahore
One of the most exciting leagues around the world and most probably 2nd best after IPL is going on. Action has shifted to Qaddafi Stadium Lahore from Karachi. We have seen action pack 1st leg in Karachi there were some jaw-dropping finishes, some furious bowling, and then some brutal hitting which were ideal things for cricket fans.
Let's do a small review of PSL so far.
You can read also a Review of 1st week of HBL PSL 2022
Multan Sultans
Defending Champions are playing like a champion and sitting right on the top of the table. They have won 5 out of 5 and are just a step away from qualifying for the 2nd round. They have played as a team and everyone has contributed but now conditions will be a little different. We know the wickets of Qaddafi Stadium have some support for spinners and we can see 2 spinners in every team and some change in the planning. But they have covered all the basic things and have an extra spin option in the shape of Asif Afridi, so we can hope that they will continue on their married way.
Islamabad United
Every side has played so far at his strength and we haven't seen anything special from any side so Islamabad United is also a really strong side and they on the 2nd position on the points table. They have played really good and aggressive cricket so far and they lost really close matches against Multan and Lahore but they won one-sided affairs against the rest of the teams. But their main pillar Paul Stirling has left the side for National Duty so they have a huge void to fill.
Lahore Qalandars
The performance of Lahore has been mixed mash so far they are the best bowling side of the tournament but they couldn't defend the total of 200 above 2 times. But they have won against United out of nowhere so consistency is lacking but they are going well. Fakhar Zaman is in scintillating form and he has taken off all the pressure from the middle order. If he loses his form somewhere then things could have been difficult for them because the middle order hasn't fired so far in the tournament.
Quetta Gladiators
Quetta was going nowhere till the last match but Vince and Roy gave them hope. They have found the right combination and looking a much better side now. Roy played one of the finest knocks in the PSL in last against one the best bowling attack Lahore Qalandars. He thrashed them all around the park and chased the target over 200 and the highest target was chased by Quetta. Now they are looking a very good side so hope for the best for them.
Peshawar Zalmi
Peshawar Zalmi is not looking at the moment they are still struggling to find the better combination. Their fast bowling attack is still not at his best and they are lacking a quality spinner in middle overs. Usman Qadir is only a specialist spinner but he is not in the best of form and it's heavily denting Peshawar. Now pitches will be spin-friendly so they need to find the best combination as soon as possible. The good news for them is Liam Livingstone has arrived and hopefully will play tonight.
Karachi Kings
Karachi Kings never looked comfortable with their team selection and that hurt them completely. They have 5 out of 5 and they are just one step away from the official exit from the tournament. They are struggling in every department of the game and their overseas picks were truly surprising. Babar Azam is the captain and he is not at his best also. Pitches of Lahore will suit him but it is really tough to ask to lift the team from here.
2. Team India Clinched the ODI series
Rohit Sharma has made a comeback as captain and he has made the difference with his captaincy skills. Team India lost his last series against South Africa and they needed this series badly so they are trying to find the new combination and are trying different things. West Indies required 237 in the 2nd ODI but they were failed to do that. Prasidh Krishna was a huge difference he got 4/12 and helped his side to win the series. India is still struggling with its middle order now Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, and Deepak Hooda is playing in the middle and are looking good but still, it's a long way to go.
Virat Kohli is still waiting for his 71st hundred, in this series he is struggling also in the 1st match he scored 8, and in the 2nd ODI, he scored 18 runs. So his struggle continues for his hundred. Let's how much time it takes.
You can read also Cricket Journey of Superstar of Cricket Pakistan Muhammad Rizwan
3. Australia Tour of Pakistan
Pakistan faced a huge setback last year when New Zealand came to Pakistan and then went away without playing a single match due to security reasons and then England pulled out of their tour of Pakistan. But now this is really big news that Australia is coming to Pakistan and they are coming with their full strength squad which is the even better thing. Australia came to Pakistan last time in 1998/99 and it is almost 24 years from now. It will be a great contest to watch between these two great sides. Rawalpindi will host the series opener and it should be a full house because no. 1 test batsman Marnus Labushagne and no. 1 test fast bowler Pat Cummins will be in the action.
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| The squad of Cricket Australia |
4. End of the road for James Anderson and Stuart Broad?
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| Stuart Broad and James Anderson |
Two great servants of England cricket and legends of the game have dropped from the squad of the tour of West Indies. Andrew Strauss said that this is not the end of the road for both but only time will tell us. England has dropped 8 players from the last Ashes squad and they are trying to build a new team. They both were not bad in Ashes as Stuart Broad got fifer also and James Anderson got 4fer but cricket is a really cruel and brutal game. It can make you a hero one day and the next day you can be a villain also. So we can only hope that these 2 legends should end their career on a high and positive note.
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| England Test Squad |
You can read also Problems of England in Test Cricket
5. IPL Mega Auction
The auction of the most expensive league in the world will be held on 12th and 13th February and the whole cricket world will be looking at them. A lot of big players will seal the deals with franchises because every team has only 3 players and they have to select the rest of the squad. With the addition of 2 new franchises, there will be 10 teams now and it will be a really long tournament. Some English players and Australians took their names out due to quarantine but still, a lot of superstars will be available and will be in action.
So that's it from our side you can visit us at www.cric-talk.com for more news about cricket.