The Sport360 team is in place bringing you the latest cricket news on Friday.
There is plenty of action to look forward to on the day with India and the West Indies battling it out in day two of the first Test at Rajkot. We will be bringing you all the news and reactions from that match and others.
9:30 pm – Lahore through to Abu Dhabi T20 final
Lahore Qalandars reaped the benefits from their development programme as the PSL franchise booked their place in Saturday’s Abu Dhabi T20 final with a convincing 35-run victory over Hobart Hurricanes.
Read the full report here.
8:00 pm – Sri Lanka unveil ambidextrous bowler
England faced one of the rarest sights in cricket during their first tour match in Sri Lanka – ambidextrous spinner Kamindu Mendis – but kept their cool to register a comfortable win.
Twenty-year-old Mendis was lining up for a strong Sri Lankan Board XI in Colombo and showcased his incredible ability to deliver both right-arm off-breaks and slow left-armers.
Read more here.
6:10pm – Shadab Khan a doubt for first Test against Australia
Pakistan have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their first Test against Australia which gets underway in Dubai on Sunday.
Leg-spinner Shadab Khan is facing a race against time to be fit for the Test and according to a reports, has been all but ruled out of the clash.
Read more on this breaking story here.
Shadab Khan is unlikely to be fit for the first Test in Dubai.
6:00pm – Sarfraz Ahmed backing Yasir Shah to unsettle Aussies
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed backed experienced leg-spinner Yasir Shah to put a depleted Australian team under pressure when the two sides clash in the first of two Tests starting in Dubai from Sunday.
The Baggy Greens lost 2-0 to Pakistan in UAE in 2014, with Yasir taking 12 scalps and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar 14.
Read what the Pakistan sipper had to say about Shah’s prowess here.
Yasir Shah will lead Pakistan’s spin attack against the Aussies.
5:00pm – Sachin Tendulkar advises Prithvi Shaw to enjoy his cricket
Prithi Shaw’s long-time idol and India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has spoken up on the 18-year-old’s sensational Test debut against the West Indies.
The batting maestro has told the Mumbai teenager to ‘enjoy his cricket’ among other things. Read what Tendulkar had to say about Shaw’s remarkable rise here.
Tendulkar has spoken up on the teenager’s sensational debut.
4:30pm – Aaron Finch to captain Australia T20 squad against Pakistan
Aaron Finch was announced as the captain while Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey were named as vice-captains as Australia revealed its 14-man squad for the upcoming T20 series against Pakistan in the UAE.
Read more on the make up of the Aussie squad and what head coach Justin Langer had to say here.
Aaron Finch (r) will lead the Aussie T20 squad in the UAE.
3:10pm – India spinners tighten screws around West Indies
The second day at the Rajkot Test has drawn to a close and if you are a West Indies cricket fan, look away now. After the hosts put on a mammoth 649-9d in their first innings, the Windies were asked to bat out the final session and it was a task in which they failed miserably. Mohammed Shami and India’s spinners were on fire as the visitors slumped to in their first innings.
To read more on the day’s play, check out our live match report here. Click here for the talking points for an in-depth analysis of an eventful day at Rajot.
West Indies collapsing at Rajkot. Image – BCCI/Twitter.
12:45pm – India declare their first-innings at 649-9
Virat Kohli has called his boys in after Ravindra Jadeja slammed a maiden Test hundred at his home ground of all places in the first Test against the West Indies. The hosts have declared their first-innings at a mammoth 649-9 at Rajkot with tea being taken on day two.
While Prithvi Shaw, Kohli and Jadeja all registered tons in India’s first-innings show, it was Rishabh Pant’s sparkling 92 that provided the fireworks on day two. Here, we take a closer look at the youngster’s 84-ball 92.
Read more on India’s batting performance in our live match report here.
Local boy Jadeja brought up a maiden Test ton on his home ground itself.
11:30am – Virat Kohli becomes second quickest to 24 Test tons
The milestones continue to tumble for India skipper Virat Kohli who brought up his 24th Test on Friday on day two of the Rajkot Test against the West Indies.
The 123 innings taken by Kohli to get to the mark puts him behind only the great Sir Don Bradman of Australia.
Read more on Kohli’s latest feat here.
Another milestone for India’s Virat Kohli.
10:30am – Kohli drives India to 506-5 at lunch
It was an entertaining morning session on day two of the first Test between India and the West Indies at Rajkot. Resuming from their overnight score of 364-4, India upped the pressure on the visitors by scoring 142 runs in the session at the loss of a single wicket. Rishabh Pant was the only batsman to be dismissed with the youngster falling eight runs short of a second Test ton.
Meanwhile, skipper Virat Kohli has notched up yet another Test century and remains unbeaten at the crease.
Stay up on all the latest from Rajkot by following our live ball-by-ball updates here.
Kohli registered his 24th Test ton. Image – BCCI/Twitter.
10:00am – Smith nominated in Platinum Category for PSL 4
Former Australia skipper Steve Smith was nominated as a Platinum Category player in the draft for the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Thursday.
The banned Aussie star is among 14 big names named in the Platinum Category who will be a part of the player pool when the player draft for the league gets under way.
Read more on the players revealed in the Platinum Category here.
Steve Smith has been nominated in the Platinum Category.
