Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli

Dubai: Virat Kohli will step down as captain of his IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore at the end of the ongoing season, the Indian batting maestro announced on Sunday, two days after deciding to quit national T20 captaincy following next month’s World Cup.

The 32-year-old Kohli, one of the most decorated players of the franchise, will continue to be a part of the RCB squad.

“This will be my last IPL as captain of RCB. I’ll continue to be an RCB player till I play my last IPL game. I thank all the RCB fans for believing in me and supporting me,” Kohli said in a statement issued by RCB.

He added, “It has been a great and an inspiring journey, captaining a talented bunch of players in the RCB squad. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the RCB management, coaches, support staff, players, and the entire RCB family, who have been instrumental in the growth of the franchise over the years.

“It wasn’t an easy decision but one that has been well thought of and in the best interest of this wonderful franchise.”

Kohli of late hasn’t been at his peak as a batsman in Tests, a format which he adores.

For close to two years now, Kohli hasn’t scored a long-form century and made 563 runs at 26.80 in 12 Tests during this period.

While announcing his decision to quit national T20 captaincy, he had stated that he was taking the step to manage his workload better.

Dubai: The supremely-talented Ruturaj Gaikwad batted through the innings for an unbeaten 58-ball 88 to lift Chennai Super Kings from 7/3 to 156 for six against Mumbai Indians as the IPL-14 resumed here on Sunday.

The late spark was provided by Dwayne Bravo (23 off 8 balls) as CSK recovered from a disastrous start to put up a fighting total.

The 24-year-old Gaikwad added 81 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (26) to steady the ship after they lost skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the sixth over and the score was 24 for 4.

Gaikwad smashed nine fours and three sixes, while Bravo hit three maximums.

CSK lost four wickets in the power play, including the wickets of skipper Dhoni and the team’s seasoned run-getter Suresh Raina, as three top-order batsmen failed to open their account.

The start was inauspicious for CSK as Trent Boult dismissed Faf du Plessis in the fifth ball of the very first over when the New Zealand pace spearhead had the veteran South African caught by the backward point fielder Adam Milne, who was standing very fine, after the batsman had shaped himself up to play the cut shot.

One for one became two for two in the next over as Milne got Moeen Ali who slapped a slightly short ball straight to Saurabh Tiwary at cover.

What didn’t help Moeen was that the ball seemed to stop as the England all-rounder went for his shot.

More trouble was in store for CSK as the three-time winners lost the big wicket of Raina in the third over when the experienced left-handed batsman, who has helped the team win so many matches in the past, got out to an irresponsible shot when he miscued one while trying to attack the Kiwi seamer.

Meanwhile, Ambati Rayudu retired hurt after taking a blow on his body to make matter worse for the Super Kings.

If that was not enough, holders Mumbai Indians piled more misery on CSK by sending the veteran Dhoni back to the hut for a poor score.

The World Cup-winning Indian captain timed his shot well but, to his shock, Boult completed a well-judged catch at deep square leg, capping a forgettable powerplay for the unit from Chennai.

After that, Gaikwad and Jadeja put together invaluable runs by mixing caution with aggression to give their team a total to defend against a side that is missing two of their big players in regular skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, whose seam-up bowling was missed when the Chennai duo was rebuilding their innings.

Colombo: Sri Lanka pace veteran Lasith Malinga, who terrorised the world’s best batsmen with his toe-crushing yorkers delivered from a low and sling-arm action, on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

The 38-year-old, who was captain of Sri Lanka’s 2014 T20 World Cup winning team, posted a message on his social media account announcing his decision.

“Hanging up my T20 shoes and retiring from all forms of cricket! Thankful to all those who supported me in my journey, and looking forward to sharing my experience with young cricketers in the years to come,” Malinga tweeted.

Malinga had retired from Test and ODI cricket in January this year but was yet to call it quits from T20 internationals.

Last year, he had expressed his desire to lead Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup, which was originally scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November 2020 but will be held next month after a COVID-forced postponement.

“I am looking forward to help youngsters and guide them in the coming years,” he said as he thanked his national team and all the franchises that he has played for, including IPL team Mumbai Indians.

“I want to give 100 per cent rest to my T20 shoes. While my shoes will rest, my love for the game will never ask for rest,” a smiling Malinga added in the video.

Malinga, who has played a staggering 122 IPL matches, has 170 wickets to his credit, the highest in the cash-rich league, with the best bowling figures of 5/13.

He picked up 107 wickets in 84 T20 Internationals, 338 scalps in 226 ODIs and 101 wickets in 30 Tests.

DUBAI: India ODI skipper Mithali Raj remained firm at the top spot while South Africa opener Lizelle Lee’s unbeaten 91 in the opening match of their series against the West Indies has helped her take joint-first position among batters in the latest ICC Women’s ODI player rankings released on Tuesday.

Lee, who first seized the top position in June 2018 and again reached the summit in March this year, scored 18 runs in the second match, which also counted towards this week’s rankings update.

She is now tied with India captain Mithali Raj at 762 rating points, with Australia’s Alyssa Healy six points behind in third place.

South Africa skipper Dane van Niekerk has also made notable gains, advancing one spot to reach 25th position among batters and six places to 19th among bowlers after finishing with two wickets each in the first two matches of the series, which South Africa won by margins of eight and nine wickets.

Wicket-keeper Trisha Chetty (up one place to 44th) and Lara Goodall (up four places to 51st) are the other South Africa batters to progress while 10th-ranked Laura Wolvaardt’s scores of 36 and 71 not out see her gain 14 points and reach within four rating points of India opener Smriti Mandhana.

Ayabonga Khaka (up one place to seventh) and Tumi Sekhukhune (up two places to 35th) have moved up the bowlers’ list.

West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has inched up one slot each among both batters and bowlers.

Kycia Knight has advanced seven places to 55th and Britney Cooper has moved from 79th to 71st among batters, while Hayle Matthews has progressed five slots to 27th among bowlers.

In the T20I Player rankings, which takes into account performances in the last match of the England- New Zealand series and 13 matches of the ICC women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier, Zimbabwe’s Modester Mupachikwa has entered the top 20 for batters, gaining 10 slots for her 133 runs in four innings.

Mary-Anne Musonda, who struck an unbeaten 52 against Tanzania to be named Player of the Match, has gained 14 slots to reach 52nd position in the list led by India’s hard-hitting opener Shafali Verma. Tanzania’s Fatuma Kibasu (53rd) and Uganda’s Immaculate Nakisuuyi (55th) have re-entered the batters’ rankings.

In the rankings for bowlers, England’s Sarah Glenn has moved up a slot to second position while New Zealand off-spinner Leigh Kasperek (up seven places to 15th) and all-rounder Jess Kerr (up eight places to 58th) have also moved up the table.

Kabul: In a shocking decision, Rashid Khan on Thursday stepped down as the captain of the Afghanistan team, saying that his opinion was not sought before finalising the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Early in the day, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named Rashid as the captain while veteran wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad was also included in the 15-member squad for the showpiece event, starting next month.

“As the captain and responsible person for the nation I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team,” the 22-year-old spinner said in a post shared on his twitter handle.

“The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media

“I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately. It’s always my proud playing for Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan has been in turmoil following the take over of the country by Taliban.

The star leg-spinner was named as T20 captain in July with the World Cup in mind.

Cricket Australia (CA) on Thursday made it clear that it will not host the Afghanistan men’s team next month if women are not allowed to play the game under Taliban rule.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in the UAE from October 17 to November 14.

NEW DELHI: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Thursday said Mahendra Singh Dhoni was appointed as mentor of the Indian team to use his vast experience for the benefit of the side during the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE.

“Dhoni’s addition to the side is a way to use his experience for the T20 WC. I also thank Dhoni for accepting BCCI’s offer to help the team for this tournament,” Ganguly said in a BCCI tweet.

Dhoni had led India to two world titles — the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 ODI World Cup in India.

He is currently with his IPL team Chennai Super Kings, gearing up for the resumption of the league from September 19 in the UAE.

London: England’s under-fire opening pair made a confident start after an indomitable Shadul Thakur and a calm Rishabh Pant ensured a 367-run lead for India as the fourth Test entered an engrossing home stretch.

Haseeb Hameed (43 batting, 85 balls) and Rory Burns (31 batting, 109 balls) put on 77 runs in 32 overs on a placid track that showed little signs of wear and tear after Thakur (60 off 72 balls) and Pant (50 off 107 balls) helped India put on a commendable 466 in their second essay.

With 291 runs out of the target of 368 required on the final day, England would at least fancy a draw if not a victory on the fifth day as the pitch has nothing on offer for the bowlers.

More so, Ravindra Jadeja (0/28 in 13 overs), whose primary skill has been overlooked by the team management, looked pedestrian during the overs that he bowled during the penultimate evening. A few balls did turn but Burns tackled them with ease.

The only bowler who made some impact was Jasprit Bumrah (7-3-11-0), who at least tried to exert some pressure on the openers.

However, India still have their nose ahead in the game largely due to the performance of the lower middle-order where Thakur the batsman exceeded everyone’s expectations with a second half-century in the match.

He was well complemented by Pant, who finally got some runs under his belt showing admirable restraint and sense of responsibility during the duo’s 100-run stand.

Credit should also go to Umesh Yadav (25) and Jasprit Bumrah (24), who also played their cameos in taking the target past 350-run mark.

Had Thakur-Pant not played their part, England would have ended up chasing a lesser total after yet another all-too familiar middle order collapse.

From 296 for 3, within 10 over space, it became 312 for 6 before Thakur and Pant joined forces.

It did help that the pitch became flatter as the day progressed and under bright sunshine, strokeplay became easier for both the batters as they could hit through the line.

While Shardul, who is fondly called ‘Beefy’ by team’s head coach Ravi Shastri for his Ian Botham-like exploits, is reinforcing his value as a bowling all-rounder.

His three straight drives were as good as any of the shots that his illustrious seniors Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara hit on the third day.

It was sight to behold as he picked an Ollie Robinson (32-7-105-2) slower early and dispatched it over long-on to reach 49 and then a pull shot for a single helped him complete his fifty.

If Shardul’s 57 in the first innings had helped the team reach a respectable total, his approach in the second innings ensured that Pant wasn’t in his usually “harakiri” mode that brought about his downfall during a number of occasions this summer.

The left hander curbed his instincts to charge down the track and played as per merit of each delivery. Only when he was in his 30’s that he lofted Moeen Ali for a one bounce four and in his 40’s charged out to slash James Anderson (33-10-79-1) over covers for a boundary.

His innings had 76 dot balls which showed that he had learnt from his mistakes but he was distraught when he failed to get the elevation, offering a return catch to Moeen (26-0-118-2).

In the first session of the day, Virat Kohli (44, 96 balls) showed promise with his cover drives but a beautiful slider from Moeen saw his back as his forward defensive prod found the outside edge into the slip’s hands.

But amid a good batting performance, what struck like a sore thumb was vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane’s another failure in what were the best batting conditions so far in the series.

Having survived a strong leg before appeal courtesy DRS, Rahane played across the line to a straight delivery from Chris Woakes (30-8-72-2) and his skiper at the other end told him not to review.

The veteran of 78 Tests with another failure is slowly making his place untenable in the playing XI.

London: India allowed Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes to earn a substantial 99-run first innings lead for England on day two of the fourth Test here, leaving their star-studded batting line-up to rise to the occasion in the second essay after a string of indifferent performances.

In the absence of Mohammad Shami, the Indian pace attack did not seem potent enough on the day and was unable to put sustained pressure on the batsmen.

From a precarious 62 for five, England staged a remarkable recovery to score 290 on a pitch getting better for batting with each session.

But despite losing the initiative, India are still in the match after restricting the English lead to less than 100.

The men responsible for giving England the upper hand in the game were Ollie Pope (81 off 159) and Chris Woakes (50 off 60) whose attacking innings in the final session could well prove to be the difference in the match.

India batting, which has let the team down often in overseas conditions and also in the series so far, will have to find a way to score at least 300 plus in the second innings.

The openers Rohit Sharma (20 batting) and K L Rahul (22 batting) made a promising start, taking India to 43 for no loss in 16 overs at stumps on day two. They still trail England by 56 runs.

Rohit got a life on 6 when he Rory Burns failed to sight a regulation catch at second slip.

Considering the batting friendly conditions at The Oval, the batsmen, especially the struggling middle-order, will be expected to deliver and keep India in the game.

India’s third and fourth choice pacers — especially Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur, were not able to maintain pressure put by Umesh Yadav (3/76) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/67) early in the England innings.

Ravindra Jadeja played his role well, taking two wickets and keeping things tight from his end.

England were bowled out after tea with Woakes getting run out after a destructive knock comprising 11 fours.

The pitch played true allowing the England batsmen to hit on the up.

Pope, playing his first match of the series, showed an attractive range of strokes including on the up straight drives and cover drives.

England led India by 36 runs at the tea break. The first wicket of the session came through Siraj, who trapped Jonny Bairstow (37) with his stock ball — the nip backer — in the fifth over after lunch. That also brought an end to an entertaining 89-run stand between Bairstow and Pope.

Pope then got together with Moeen Ali (35) to give England the upperhand. The two shared a 71-run stand and before a well-set Moeen played a poor shot off Ravindra Jadeja to throw his wicket away. The attempted slog sweep went straight into the hands of the cover fielder.

In the morning session, Umesh struck twice in the first hour of play before a counter-attacking stand between Bairstow and Pope took England to 139 for five at lunch. England scored 86 runs in the 25-over session.

Umesh, perennially in and out of the playing eleven and featuring in his first Test in nine months, was impressive in his opening spell after taking the prized wicket of Joe Root on Thursday.

He got his 150th Test wicket in his first over of the day after nightwatchman Craig Overton slashed one hard only to edge it to Virat Kohli at first slip.

Dawid Malan (31 off 67) once again batted fluently until Umesh, coming from around the wicket, got one to slightly straighten to take the outside edge and Rohit Sharma took a brilliant diving catch at second slip, leaving England at 62 for five.

With Bumrah also applying pressure from the other end, England managed to score only 25 runs in the first hour in which 12 overs were bowled.

However, the momentum shifted drastically in England’s favour after the drinks break as Shardul Thakur conceded four boundaries in his over with three of them coming from Pope’s blade.

One was a delightful straight drive and was followed by a flick between the mid-on and mid-wicket arc. With the pitch not offering much help to the pacers, Thakur paid the price for bowling a bit too full.

The next over, Bairstow collected three boundaries off Siraj, who too wasn’t at his best.

Pope batted with supreme confidence and struck a gorgeous cover drive off Bumrah towards the end of the session.

Brief Scores:

India 191 and 43 for 0 (KL Rahul 22 batting, Rohit Sharma 20 batting)

England 1st Innings: 290 (Ollie Pope 81, Chris Woakes 50, Umesh Yadav 3/76, Jasprit Bumrah 2/67).

LONDON: India skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday became the fastest batsman in the history of the game to register 23,000 international runs.

Kohli achieved the feat in the opening session of the opening day of the fourth Test against England here at the Oval on Thursday. The Indian skipper took just 490 innings to register the feat while Sachin Tendulkar had taken 522 innings to achieve the same milestone. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting had taken 544 innings to score 23,000 international runs.

Kohli has been going through a lean patch of late as he has not registered a single ton in international cricket for 51 innings. He last scored a century way back in 2019 against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Coming back to the ongoing match, India lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara as England dominated the opening session of the fourth Test at the Kennington Oval.

At lunch, India’s score read 54/3 with Kohli (18*) and Ravindra Jadeja (2*) unbeaten at the crease. In the first session, 25 overs were bowled and the English bowlers made sure they repaid the faith shown by skipper Joe Root as he won the toss and decided to bowl.

Sent into bat, the Indian openers — Rohit and Rahul — mixed caution with aggression and the duo saw out the opening spells of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson. However, the introduction of Chris Woakes paid off straight away as he dismissed Rohit (11), ending the 28-run opening stand.

Pujara next joined Rahul in the middle and the duo found the going tough and they did not score a single run for almost five overs, and this eventually brought about a wicket, as Rahul (17) was trapped in front by Ollie Robinson, reducing India to 28/2.

Pujara (4) also failed to leave a mark with the bat as he chased a wide delivery and his wicket was grabbed by James Anderson, reducing India to 39/3 in the 20th over. In the end, Kohli and Jadeja ensured that India went into the lunch break without losing any further wicket.