Pakistan recently played in South Africa (3 ODIs, 4 T20Is) and Zimbabwe (3 T20Is, 2 Tests). The South Africa series, in particular was memorable, with most games going down the wire.
Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Hasan Ali highlighted the tour for Pakistan, while Anrich Nortje, Janneman Malan, and Aiden Markram came to the fore for the Proteas. While the Zimbabwe were criticized for their Test match display, they were pretty good in the T20s, with Luke Jongwe & Blessing Muzarabani emerging as Zimbabwe’s stars.
Regis Chakabva – 146 runs (best of 80, 48.66 average, 50s-1)
Abid Ali – 275 runs (best of 215*, 275.00 average, 100s-1, 50s-1)
Most Wickets
Blessing Muzarabani – 7 wickets (best innings – 4/73, best match – 4/73, 22.14 average)
Hasan Ali – 14 wickets (best innings – 5/27, best match – 9/89, 8.92 average)
Pakistan Vs Zimbabwe 2021 Test Series Stats
The Moments
Pakistan had several memorable moments, while South Africa and Zimbabwe have some points to cheer about as well.
South Africa – Rising Young Team But Still Has Gaps To Fill
Pressure situations reveal the class of a player. Although Anrich Nortje only played 2 ODIs prior to IPL departure, his 4/51 & 3/53 in the middle overs gave Proteas hope. It was his 4 wickets in the 2nd ODI that stopped Pakistan from chasing the mammoth 342 score. Fakhar Zaman was left playing a lone hand as Nortje took out his partners. His wickets in the series? Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq among others.
Rassie van der Dussen – nominee for South Africa’s T20I, ODI, and cricketer of the year award, he has taken responsibility on his own shoulder. South Africa were reeling at 4-55 in the first ODI before Rassie’s maiden century – 123* rescued South Africa to 273, a winning total in the end. Couple of other handy fifties on the tour as well.
The new look order does the job – ODI captain Temba Bavuma’s 92, Klassen’s 50 & 36*, Aiden Markram with 3 consecutive T20I fifties (51,54, 63) are positives. Couple of fifties for David Miller & Quinton de Kock with a 80 well.
Find of the tournament for me was Janneman Malan. Superb timing. 70 (81) in the ODIs and 24 (16), 15(10), 55(40), 33 (28) in the T20Is provided South Africa the starts. QDK-Malan-Markram is exactly what SA need to drive forward.
Will he? Won’t he? Well he has finally decided. AB De Villiers retires. For real this time.
Pakistan – The Alis Rise to the Occasion (Abid, Azhar, Nauman, Hasan)
Pakistan Top Order a Class Apart in Limited Overs
We are living in the Babar Azam era. Except for the Zimbabwe series, Babar is having a good time, both with the bat and as a captain. Babar Azam overtook Virat Kohli’s reign at the top of the ICC ODI rankings. #10 in Tests and #3 on the T20I as well. Just the eighth captain in all of Test cricket to win four Test matches on a trot. Only Pakistani on that list.
Mohammad Rizwancontinues on his merry way. 74*, 0, 73*, 0, 82*, 13, 91*. These are T20I numbers. Amazing stuff. I do not really mind the ducks if you can play 4 match-winning knocks in 2 series. Rizwan has been Pakistan’s hero for the past year, performing in overseas conditions consistently.
Just like Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman has yet to scale the heights of his 2017-2018 season. With Babar & Rizwan already in red hot form, Fakhar slotting as an opener was questionable. He repaid the selectors’ faith in style. Chasing 342 in the 2nd ODI, Fakhar Zaman scored possibly the best ODI knock in a losing cause—193 (155) (with 10 sixes), only to be run-out due to QDK’s guile. Until the 99th over of the match, it was anyone’s game. Followed this epic with a 101 in the very next game and 60 in a T20I.
Age is just a number
Abid Ali (33), Nauman Ali (34), Fawad Alam (35), Azhar Ali (36), and Tabish Khan (36) all came to the party in the Zimbabwe Test series.
Azhar Ali (126) and Abid Ali (215) combined for a magnificent 236-run partnership in the 2nd Test, batting Zimbabwe out of the match.
Fawad Alamis making each and every series count. Since his return, he has made a century in New Zealand (102), South Africa (109), and Zimbabwe (140). He has converted all of his four 50+ scores into centuries. Brilliant stuff.
Tabish Khan became the second oldest debutant for Pakistan. After toiling in domestic cricket for 19 years and after 598 wickets, Tabish finally received the international cap at the age of 36.Wicket in the first over as well.
The Test Bowling Unit Makes a Mark
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Nauman Ali, and Hasan Ali each took five-fors in the Zimbabwe Test Series.
Nauman, the left-arm orthodox, ended with figures of 5-86 to end Zimbabwe’s resistance in the final innings of the 2nd Test. Handy 97 (143) as well as a #9 batsman, combining for a 169-run partnership with Abid Ali.
Find of the victorious 2017 Champions Trophy campaign, Hasan Ali had a slight blip in his rising career. After a couple of years on the sideline and fighting back with a strong domestic performance, the energizer is back! Hasan Ali has been a revelation on his comeback – Most wickets for Pakistan in the SA T20I series and the Zimbabwe Test series. Truly deserved the Player of the Series award in the Zimbabwe series (4/53, 5/36, 5/27).
Take Shaheen lightly at your own peril. Opening bowler, death bowler, can do everything. 6 wickets in the SA ODIs and 3 in the T20Is, and figures of 4/43 & 5/52 versus Zimbabwe.
Imran Buttcaught the attention of many as well. His 91 (236) set the tone in the Zimbabwe Test series. Five catches in the slips a pretty good job done as well.
Zimbabwe – Injuries, Memorable T20I Win, Humiliating Test Loss
Blessing Muzarabani has the height, pace, and bounce. At 24, he is one of Zimbabwe’s future stars. In a one-sided Test series, his 4/73 and 3/82 was quite a highlight. Babar Azam – 0(1) & 2 (8), Fawad Alam (140) , Azhar Ali (126) among his seven scalps.
Luke Jongwe was Zimbabwe’s hero in the 2nd T20I. Pakistan lost their way on a 119-run chase, bowled-out for 99. Jongwe’s figures? 3.5-0-18-4. 30* & 2/24 in the first T20I and 3/37 in the final match sums up a great series for Jongwe.
Sikander Raza was diagnosed of a bone-marrow infection operation (initially a cancer scare) and underwent a surgery. Raza was dearly missed with Brendan Taylor out of form and injury-list of Kyle Jarvis (COVID-19, malaria, tick bite fever), Sean Williams (sick), Craig Ervine (calf injury), Prince Masvaure, Wesley Madhevere,, & Tendai Chatara.
Ryan Burl Makes The Headlines
1. Ryan Burl exposes disparity between top nations and less-funded teams.
With 23-men squad for the T20I world possible now, here are my early squad predictions. Based on this Pakistan tour of Africa 2021, here is our early predictions:
South Africa
South Africa just released their squads for the tour of West Indies, which gives us some new hints.
Quinton de Kock (WK), 2. Janneman Malan, 3. Faf du Plessis, 4. Rassie Van der Dussen, 5. Temba Bavuma*, 6. David Miller, 7. George Linde, 8. Chris Morris, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Anrich Nortje, 11. Tabraiz Shamsi
Wildcards: AB De Villiers (WK), Imran Tahir, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Junior Dala, Pete van Biljon
*captain
Pakistan
For reference, here was our earlier WT20 watch for Pakistan’s squad in our Pak Vs NZ and the Pakistan leg of the Pak-SA series.. Some new faces have come into play, while some players have dropped off the list.
Babar Azam (C), 2. Mohammad Rizwan (WK), 3. Fakhar Zaman, 4. Haider Ali, 5. Mohammad Hafeez, 6. Shadab Khan, 7. Faheem Ashraf, 8. Hasan Ali, 9. Haris Rauf, 10. Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11. Usman Qadir
Squad: 12. Imad Wasim, 13. Mohammad Hasnain, 14. Mohammad Nawaz, 15. Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK), 16. Sharjeel Khan, 17. Naseem Shah, 18. Imam-ul-Haq, 19. Danish Aziz, 20. Arshad Iqbal, 21. Zahid Mahmood, 22. Khusdil Shah/Hussain Talat/Asif Ali (lower order finisher), 23. Iftikhar Ahmed/Shoaib Malik
Wildcard: Sohail Tanvir, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Musa/Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir (rumors has it he applied for UK passport in order to be available for the IPL)
Since Zimbabwe did not qualify for the 2021 T20 World Cup, we will not be looking into their squads.
Awards
South Africa
Pakistan
Zimbabwe
Emerging Player
Janneman Malan
Imran Butt
Luke Jongwe
Surprise Package
Aiden Markram
Returns of Fakhar Zaman & Hasan Ali
Regis Chakabva
Broken Cricket Dream
AB De Villiers Retires. Like Actually
Mohammad Amir applies for British citizenship
Brendon Taylor’s form Short Test Matches Sikander Raza
Pakistan tour of Africa 2021 – The Awards
Where Do They Go From Here?
Lots of cricket action coming up!
South Africa head to the Caribbean for 2 Tests & 5 T20Is against the West Indies in June.
Pakistan tour England for 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is in July, followed by 5 T20Is & 2 Tests against the West Indies. There is a Pakistan Super League resumption in the UAE somewhere in the middle as well (if it gets finalized).
What did you think of our Pakistan tour of Africa 2021?
Comment below for your favorite moments & squad predictions! Subscribe for more below! Share with your friends as well! Here is our Facebook& Twitter pages.
Australia Women Vs New Zealand Women Series Review—An All-Time great Australian team brushes aside a struggling White Ferns outfit, the home team. A few major moments in this series.
The return of Ellyse Perry, Australia Women breaking Ponting’s ODI streak, Kasperek’s 3-wicket over, and Ashleigh Gardner’s golden run were some of the highlights.
Alyssa Healy – 155 runs Best of 65, 51.66 average, 98.72 SR
Lauren Down – 106 runs Best of 90, 35.33 average, 68.83 SR
Most Wickets
Megan Schutt – 7 wickets Best of 4/32, 13.14 average, 4.18 economy
Leigh Kasperek – 9 wickets Best of 6/46, 7.77 average, 4.66 economy
Australia Women Vs New Zealand Women 2021 ODI Series Stats
The Moments
Australia Women
Ellyse Perry finally came back since injuring herself in the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup. Before the pandemic hit. Although not back to her fluent self, she finished a couple of games with 23* and 56*. Bowling is still a worry though. In the 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is, she bowled a combined 7 overs with only one wicket to her name. With Alyssa Healy hitting form in the T20I series, good signs for Australia that their two best batters are getting back to their best.
Ashleigh Gardner has been on a golden run in the past two years, hitting 3 T20I fifties (best of 93), including a 73* in this series. Also hit a 53* in an ODI and rolled her arm a few times for part-time off-spin.
Jess Jonassen & Megan Schutt were the pick of this series with the ball. Jonassen’s 3 wickets in the T20I gave Australia the edge in the first T20I, while figures of 4/32, 1/38, & 2/22 earned Schutt the Player of the Series award in the ODI series. With 99 wickets (ODI) & 96 wickets (T20Is), she is on a verge of couple of records.
Nicola Carey (3/34 in 1st ODI), Rachel Haynes (87 in 2nd ODI) starred in a couple of games as well.
Speaking of records, let us talk about the big one. Meg Lanning has now led Australia to 24 consecutive ODI wins, regrouping after their 2017 WC defeat against India. They overtook Ricky Ponting’s 21 consecutive ODI wins in the great 2003 era.
This is a huge achievement for the Australian team, and it will take quite a dominant team to take over this record. I am saying this may last a couple of decades. CONGRATULATIONS TO Lanning and the rest of this Australian team.
New Zealand Women
Leigh Kasperek was one of the only stand-outs from the Kiwi side in the ODIs. Although Australia swept the series, Kasperek took a 6-wicket haul, including 3 wickets in the same over in the 3rd ODI. Australia are really good, there is still room for improvement against spin.
Frances Mackay’s show won New Zealand their only victory in the 2nd T20I of the series. Opening the bowling, her spell of 4-0-20-2 stalled Australia’s run-rate, but her courageous batting display won her praise. Mackay opened the batting as well and battled through an injury to score 46 (39). After her wicket, Kiwis collapsed from 81-2 in 12 overs to 101-6 when Amelia Kerr got out in 17.0 overs. Composed 30-run partnership between Maddy Green & Hannah Rowe took New Zealand off the last ball. Thriller.
Breakout tour for Lauren Down. Only 75 runs in 10 innings prior to this tour, her 90 (134) set the platform for the White Ferns in the first ODI. Unfortunately, the lower order collapsed, and Australia women completed the record breaking streak.
Awards
Australia Women
New Zealand Women
Emerging Player
Nicola Carey
Lauren Down
Surprise Package
Ashleigh Gardner, the all-rounder
Frankie Mackay
Broken Cricket Dream
Ellyse Perry’s bowling load
The White Ferns’ Declining form
Australia Women Vs New Zealand Women 2021 Series Awards
Where Do They Go From Here?
New Zealand Women tour England for 3 T20Is and 5 ODIs In September, while Australia do not have anything scheduled till the 2022 ODI World Cup next March (to be held in New Zealand).
That means, the next major tournament, is going to be the Hundred this summer in England. Will be a game-changer for women’s cricket.
Comment below for your favorite moments & squad predictions! Subscribe for more below! Share with your friends as well! Here is our Facebook& Twitter pages.
Kemar Roach – 9 wickets (best innings 3/47, best match 6/121, 23.55 average, 73 overs bowled)
Suranga Lakmal – 11 wickets (best innings 5/47, best match 6/156, 1 5-fer, 21.45 average, 92 overs bowled)
West Indies Vs Sri Lanka 2021 Test Series Stats
The Moments
West Indies
1. A Tale of Three Captains: Holder, Pollard, Brathwaite
After West Indies’ remarkable victory against Bangladesh, stand-in Kraigg Brathwaite was made the permanent captain, replacing Jason Holder. Any claims of clash of egos, however, was much unfounded. Each of them contributed with the bat and Holder was even vocal on the field. Here is how they performed:
Pollard:38 (11) w/ 6 sixes in 1st T20I, 53* (42) in 3rd ODI
Brathwaite:In Bangladesh, he scored 76 & 20 and 47 & 6. Stable but no daddy hundreds. This time, he made amends with 126 (311) & 85 (196). His 813 minutes marathon effort broke the all-time West Indies record, surpassing the likes of Darren Bravo, Brian Lara, Desmond Haynes, & Gordon Greenidge.
Holder: He might not be the captain of the West Indies, but showed that he is still the #1 Test All-Rounder in the world. With 5/72 & 5th day match-saving contributions of 18* and 71* in the two Tests, his calm influence was evident. In the T20Is, scores of 29* and 14* might not look like much, but defending Hasaranga in the 18th over, so Fabian Allen could finish it off with 3 sixes was one of my moments of the series.
2. The Return of Hope to West Indies Cricket
110, 84, & 64—Hope is back. With 10 centuries, 19 50s, & 53.74 average, he is one of best ODI batsman in recent times along with Babar Azam & Virat Kohli. With John Campbell struggling for runs, expect a Test recall.
When Hope does not score a ton, Evin Lewis will. Returned with 65 & 103. When neither of them scored a hundred, Darren Bravo came back with a ton.
Their strike rates were in question, but healthy top order partnerships is the positive for the Windies.
3. Nkrumah Bonner-Kyle Mayers Partnership No Fluke
At the age of 32, Bonner has toiled hard enough in first class cricket. Bonner narrowly missed his ton in Bangladesh with 86 & 90 in Bangladesh, but his dream came true with a 113* in the first test.
A couple of 50s for Kyle Mayers & handy partnerships with Joshua de Silva shows that the Bangladesh tour was no fluke.
4. A Word on Rakheem Cornwall
Time to appreciate Rakheem Cornwall. Bowled his heart out in the spinning pitches of Bangladesh, and without his counter-attacking knocks of 61 & 73, West Indians might have lost 0-2 against Sri Lanka at home. Let Rakheem be Rakheem.
Suranga Lakmal could have easily slotted in one of the great Sri Lankan teams of the past. Unfortunately, after Herath’s retirement, he has to single handedly carry the Sri Lankan bowling on his shoulders. Highest wicket-taker across both sides and bowling 92 overs as a fast bowler in 2 tests—Commendable effort.
2. Hasaranga & Nissanka the Find For Sri Lanka
While Embuldeniya & Axar Patel bamboozled the English sides, the West Indies struggled against Hasaranga. If Sri Lanka are to progress further, watch out for the Embuldeniya-Hasaranga-Dhananjaya partnership.
Test century (103) on debut—Pathum Nissanka —take a bow! Followed it up with a 50 in the next innings. With Oshada Fernando also in good touch, finally good signs for Sri Lanka.
Talent ✔. Next goal — consistency.
3. Thirimanne Delivers A Decade Later
Thirimanne averages 25.87 now after a decade and 40 Tests to his name. Finally some consistency in the last four Tests with 2 centuries, 3 fifties (on this tour), a 43 & a 39.
Sri Lanka might have found a stable line up in Karunaratne, Thirimanne, Nissanka, Fernando, Mathews, and Dickwella. Speaking of Dickwella, so close yet so far. Scored his highest score of 92 (after 43 Tests). Brilliant character.
Great Test cricket in recent times, and the West Indies Vs Sri Lanka series lived up to the billing—first 0-0 draw in the last 5 years. Sri Lanka follow this with two Test matches against Bangladesh in April at home(to complete matches from the pandemic).
With neither side qualifying for the WTC final, the next major tournament is the T20I World Cup. Gayle, Hetmyer, Pooran, Pollard, Bravo & Russell have reached for the IPL, while Sri Lanka has zero players in the IPL (once Sangakkara-Jayawardene used to captain IPL teams). In June, Sri Lanka will travel to England for 3 T20Is & 3 ODIs to prepare for the World Cup.
Finally, in Jan-Feb of 2022, England tour West Indies for 5 T20Is & 3 Tests, returning their generous favor of restarting cricket last summer.
Comment below for your favorite moments & squad predictions! Subscribe for more below! Share with your friends as well! Here is our Facebook& Twitter pages.
India Vs England Series Review. The most anticipated limited overs series of the year—#1 England vs #2 India.
Did the series live up to the hype? Not quite. Except the Sam Curran game, none of the games went down to the wire, but there were plenty of talking points regardless:
40 is the new 50 feat Jason Roy
Debutants Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Liam Livingstone, & Prasidh Krishna storm the international arena
Shardul Thakur is the new Liam Plunkett
The power game of Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, & Ben Stokes is second to none
Here are the series stats, video highlights, winners & losers, and emerging players. Read till the end forWorld T20I Squad Predictionsand some Dinesh Karthik content.
Mark Wood – 5 wickets (best of 3/34, 21.80 average, 6.41 economy)
India Vs England Series 2021 – ODI Stats
The Highlights
India
The highest wicket-taker across both the ODIs & T20Is from both sides, Shardul Thakur has been a revelation over the last few months. After his match-winning contribution at the Gabba, he has contributed in almost every match, either as a power hitter down the order or with important wickets. Only fitting that Ajit Agarkar (with 288 wickets on his name) was on-commentary during some of Thakur’s spells.
India’s young brigade—Ishan Kishan began with a solid 56, Suryakumar Yadav 57 (with one-legged six for first shot), and Krunal Pandya scored India’s fastest debutant 50. The lanky Prasidh Krishna was my pick of the lot. Expensive in his first spells but came back with figures of 4/54 & 2/58. Great spirit! Add Shreyas Iyer’s stable performances, Shikhar Dhawan’s return to form in the ODIs, & Virat Kohli’s consistency, this Indian line up looks really solid. Even without Kohli’s elusive 71st ton.
The old Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back. Bhuvi’s economy of 4.65 in a high scoring series & KL Rahul’s 62* & 108 in the ODIs (after 0,0,1, 14 in the T20Is) hold well for India. Maybe KL in the middle order is the way to go with Kohli-Rohit opening in the T20Is.
Middle overs bowling is a concern for India. Since the break of Kuldeep-Chahal, neither have been convincing. Time for Kuldeep to go back to first class cricket or a county cricket stint. R Ashwin limited overs comeback?
Jonny Bairstow& Jason Roy were the reason behind England’s rise & 2019 WC victory, but both had questions over the place over the last few months.
Bairstow, the Test batsman, had scores of 0,0, 28 & 0.
Bairstow, the limited overs batsman, is something else. First full over – 2 sixes to Chahal. Regained confidence in the T20I and came to the fore in the ODIs with 94 & 124. Except for the ill-timed shot in the first ODI, good signs for England
Roy’s the new Root: 49, 46, 9, 40, 0, 46, 55, & 14. After a poor 2020, finally good to have the old Roy back, but needs to convert more often.
Mark Wood was my player of the series based on his commitment. The highest wicket taker for England in the ODIs, he bowled his heart out. In the last ODI, he was visibly under the weather but kept bowling at 141+ kph. To add the cherry to the cake, he stayed in the game in that 60 (61) partnership with Sam Curran.
Let us talk about the player who was not here (and no, I am not talking about Alex Hales, whose window for return may have opened). Liam Plunkett has been sorely missed since he was dumped post World Cup victory. Tom Curran & Chris Jordan have been expensive across both the formats, and Adil Rashid has only been successful in his new Powerplay position. England can definitely chase 350+, but without Plunkett, they are consistently giving away that many runs.
Sam Curran‘s 95* in the final game was the highlight of the series. The make things happen guy had not done much of note for the entire series, but showed his worth in the final ODI dismissing the dangerous Rishabh Pant and displaying his finishing game.
Oh and by the way, my tweet right before the Pant wicket. All he needed was this tweet. You’re welcome Sam Curran fans.
The Umpiring Anti-Award:Soft-signal (we know it is bad when this rule is dropped from the IPL). This rule received strong criticism after Suryakumar Yadav’s catch by Dawid Malan was deemed out on soft signal (although camera angles were inconclusive).
India
England
Emerging Players
Kohli-Rohit T20I opening
Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna
Liam Livingstone
Surprise Package
‘Intent’
Sam Curran, the finisher
Broken Cricket Dream
Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav
Eoin Morgan (injured), Tom Curran & Chris Jordan’s economy rate
New Zealand tour England for two Tests in June followed by India Vs New Zealand for the World Test Championship final. Oh and if you did not have enough of watching these two teams, India tour England for 5 Tests in August-September.
Some series are more hyped than others. That is the way of life. Amidst the India Vs England ‘marquee’ series, there was a much better spectacle of cricket in the UAE.
This series had everything—an overseas Test victory for Zimbabwe, first Test double century for Afghanistan by Hasmatullah Shahidi, Sean Williams’ 2 tons, follow-on fightback from Williams-Tiripano, Zimbabwe’s Blessing (Muzarabani), Rashid Khan’s toil of the century, and other heroes in Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Ryan Burl, Ibrahim Zadran, Amir Hamza, and lot more.
Here is my series review—Results, video highlights stats, major moments, T20I World Cup squad predictions, awards, and much more!
Rahmanullah Gurbaz – 114 runs (best of 87, 154.05 SR)
Ryan Burl – 81 runs (best of 40, 122.72 SR)
Most Wickets
Rashid Khan – 6 wickets (best of 3/28, 7.60 economy)
Blessing Muzarabani – 6 wickets (best of 2/38, 10.25 economy)
Afghanistan Vs Zimbabwe 2021 T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
Afghanistan
Rashid Khan only played one Test match. In that one Test, he bowled more than anyone in the entire series. In fact, it was the most overs bowled in the 21st century in a single test. Digest that. He bowled 36.3 overs in the first innings & 62.5 overs in the follow on, taking 11 wickets overall. The fact that he left the PSL, missed the first Test with an injury, and played the rest of the series with full commitment is just something else. Also, he is only 22. Afghanistan needs to find more bowling partners to save Rashid from burnout.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz for me was the find of the series. 87 with 7 sixes in his player of the matchdebut performance. Not a bad start I would say.
With Gurbaz, Mohamamad Nabi, Asghar Afghan, & Najibullah Zadran all playing crucial roles in the T20I series, Karim Janat flew under the radar. Consistent all-round performances with 26 & 2/14, 53 & 1/27, and 21 & 2/34 got him the player of the series award.
A word on Hashmatullah Shahidi & Asghar Afghan. First double hundred by an Afghan batsman, 164 for Asghar, and a 307-run brilliant partnership. Afghanistan is improving, slowly but steadily. Good signs for world cricket.
Zimbabwe
With Brendon Taylor & Craig Ervine missing out due to illness, captain Sean Williams shouldered the responsibility with 105 in the 2-day Test victory & 151* in a follow-on. He was just a class apart. When Taylor & Ervine return, I am hoping for some progress for this Zimbabwean team (and possibly a 2023 WC qualification?)
Blessing Muzarabani was among the wickets in both the Test and ODI series. 4/48 & 2/14 in that first Test followed by 2 wickets each in the last Test and the T20Is. Slightly expensive in the T20Is, but will get better with time.
There was a time after the 2003 World Cup that Zimbabwe’s fast bowling stocks depleted. The bowling unit of Muzarabani, Victor Nyauchi, and Donald Tiripano bundled Afghanistan for 131 & 135 in the UAE. Gives me some hope.
The 187 run-partnership between Williams & Tiripano for the 8th wicket in the follow-on (highest for Zimbabwe at that spot) was very special. At the 20th anniversary of Dravid-Laxman’s partnership at the Eden Gardens, this would have been the perfect tribute. Unfortunately, Tiripano got out for 95 and Afghanistan chased the score with only a brief stutter. Brilliant Test match regardless.
The Awards
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Afghanistan
Zimbabwe
Emerging Player
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Amir Hamza (6/75), Ibrahim Zadran (31 & 76, 72 & 29)
Blessing Muzarabani
Surprise Package
Karim Janat
Ryan Burl
Broken Cricket Dream
Abdul Malik, Munir Ahmad, Abdul Wasi (Debutants)
Brendon Taylor, Craig Ervine (miss out during illness)
Afghanistan Vs Zimbabwe 2021 Series Awards
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!
T20I World Cup Watch
We are doing a World T20 Watch from now till the T20I world cup next year. Here is our predicted T20 XI line up and a 16-men squad as of now based on this series. Several ifs and buts at this point, but it will get clearer along the journey.
Since the T20 World Cup is scheduled in India, several spin options are considered.
Afghanistan 2021 World T20 Squad – Prediction
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), 2. Usman Ghani, 3. Karim Janat, 4. Najibullah Zadran, 5. Mohammad Nabi, 6. Asghar Afghan*, 7. Rashid Khan, 8. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 9. Amir Hamza/Zahir Khan, 10. Naveen Ul-Haq, 11. Fareed Ahmad
Wildcards: Wellington Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Milton Shumba
Where Do They Go From Here?
Zimbabwe is bound to tour Ireland in August for 3 ODIs (after Ireland tour Netherlands in June for 3 ODIs) . Important ODI Super League points up for grabs.
In the meantime, the Afghanistan trio of Rashid Khan-Mohammad Nabi-Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be headed to Sunrisers Hyderabad camp for the Indian Premier League.
What did you think about the Afghanistan Vs Zimbabwe 2021 series? What are your World T20 line ups? COMMENT BELOW, and let us know what you think!
After a year of no cricket, women’s cricket finally restarted in India. Although the series ended with 4-1 and 2-1 to South Africa, there were positives for both teams.
Lizelle Lee’s blew India away with a whirlwind series, Shabnim Ismail continued to show why she is one of the leading fast bowlers in the world, and Anneke Bosch made full use of her opportunities.
While it seems that Women’s IPL is not going to become a reality anytime soon, India had positives as well.
India added another feather to Mithali Raj’s & Jhulan Goswami’s record breaking careers, witnessed Punam Raut’s second coming & return of Mansi Joshi, and saw the rise of youngsters in Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Monica Patel, & Radha. The experienced trio of Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Deol, & Deepti Sharma chipped in as well, but lower order power hitting & Jemimah Rodrigues’ ODI form remains a concern.
For Video Highlights/Scorecards, commentary on Women’s IPL, & emerging players, keep on reading ahead.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad – 4 wickets (best of 3/9, 4.75 economy)
Shabnim Ismail – 4 wickets (best of 3/14, 8.20 economy)
India Vs South Africa Women 2021 T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
India
Punam Raut was revelation in this series with scores of 10, 62*, 77, 104*, & 10. Debuting 12 years ago with 72 ODIs & an average in the 30s, she was already a known name in the line up. Before this series, Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, & Jhulan Goswami were sure starters for the Indian Women’s ODI team. Add Punam Raut to that list after this breakthrough series. Could be a long term #3 option.
Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami once again displayed their worth in this ODI team. Although she had no centuries to her name this series, Mithali Raj consistently steadied the ship with scores of 50, 36, 45, and 79*. In the process, she became the first Indian women and second overall to cross 10,000 runs across formats. Legend. The other stalwart, Jhulan Goswami, came to the party as well with a match winning 4/42 in the second ODI.
Shafali Verma gave India the much-needed blazing starts in the T20I hitting 8 sixes altogether, with the 60*(30) in the 3rd T20I the best of the lot. Now the #1 ranked T20I batter. Time for ODI debut?
South Africa
If there was one player that was the difference between the two sides, it was Lizelle Lee and the top order. Usually one match winning knock in a series is a great achievement, but Lizelle came up with 83*, 132*, 69, & 70 across formats. Brilliant. When Lee did not perform, either the others in the top order Laura Wolvaardt (80 & 53) and Lara Goodall (59) came to the fore or South Africa women lost.
The Proteas found a new winner in Anneke Bosch with two player of the match performances. With Mignon Du Preez & Sune Luus chipping in and van Niekerk on an injury break, South Africa might be a dark horse for the next World Cup.
Shabnim Ismail & the fast bowling unit were impressive yet again. Although Ismail was the only one with the wickets, Khaka & Kapp kept the runs in the check, limiting India to 177, 248, 266, and 188.
No Women’s IPL yet again & Jemimah Rodrigues’ ODI form
Van Niekerk’s Out of Action – Missing out on a wonderful overseas series win
India Vs South Africa Women 2021 Series Awards
Where Do They Go From Here?
At this point, except the upcoming Australia vs New Zealand Women series coming up, there are no upcoming international fixtures till ODI World Cup in March 2022. The only professional cricket seems to be The Hundred in the UK this summer. Promises to be a game changer for Women’s cricket.
Another setback has happened with reports of no IPL in 2021 (with suggestions that this was done due to the ‘lack of depth’ and result of the South Africa series).
If the result of this series indeed had a direct impact on the WIPL decision, then let us reflect back. Were India really that bad this series? Not really. They actually improved over the course of the series. 177, 160/1 (won), 248 (lost only by D/L), and 266. In the final T20I, chased 113 with 9 wickets and 9 overs in hand. If not for Lizelle Lee’s brilliance, the score line would have been much closer.
Also if the national cricket board does not give the team a chance for an entire year after the team reached the final of a World T20, then it is not the players’ fault. It is the administration’s lack of urgency, vision, & communication.
Thoughts on Women’s Indian Premier League
It was nice to see widespread awareness and support in Twitter countering the arguments made against Women’s IPL. Here was a list of the top women professional cricketers in India that went viral.
If not now, when? Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami are on the verge of retirements, and it would be a shame if they are not part of the first iteration of this imaginary tournament. Here are my thoughts on the positives that Indian cricket can gain from the WIPL:
Foster fanbases & transfer experience to the next generation of Indian players
Intermingling of domestic Indian players with international stars and coaches, which has clearly been a feature of the
Financial Growth, which can be reinvested to grow the women’s game in India and improve the standard of women’s domestic cricket in the long run.
Cultural and financial awareness through the WIPL in the form of TV and social media can help make women’s sports a potential career in India
Bring talented youngsters in the mix
Narrowing down the gap between Australia-England-New Zealand and the rest of the countries in women’s cricket. This will also give an opportunity to Associate nations like the rising Thailand team.
Sure maybe 8 teams with 30 players each may be two far, but just 4 games in the Women’s T20 Challenge is a disgrace. Start with 4-6 teams and grow it little by little each year.
