Hello cricket fans and welcome to our live blog for Saturday!
Plenty of cricket action coming your way as Australia and India continue their ongoing battle in the second Test between the two sides at Perth
We’ll have all the updates from an action-packed day. As always, get in touch with us through Twitter and Facebook.
8:00 pm – Philander injured
Vernon Philander.
South Africa received another injury setback after veteran seamer Vernon Philander was ruled out of at least the first Test against Pakistan which begins on December 26.
Philander is nursing a fractured right thumb and is all but certain to miss the Centurion Test.
For more, click here.
7:30 pm – Ishant unperturbed
India fast bowler Ishant Sharma took a dig at Australian media on Saturday for their continued focus on his no-ball issues.
Read his quotes here.
4:00pm – Arthur backs Pakistan to shine in South Africa tour
Pakistan might be coming into the tour of South Africa on the back of a confidence-sapping loss against New Zealand but head coach Mickey Arthur remains confident that his men can exceed expectations in the three-Test series.
Although Sarfraz Ahmed and his men were beaten 2-1 by the Kiwis in the UAE, Arthur asserted that the young side was clearly on the up.
Read Arthur’s quotes in full here.
Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur.
2:00pm – Kohli and Rahane fifties lead India’s response at Perth
Day two in the second Test between Australia and India at Perth has drawn to a close with the visitors reaching 172-3 in their first innings.
After Australia were bowled out for 326 in their first innings, their pacers removed India’s openers cheaply before Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane staged a fightback with respective half-centuries.
Read more on the day’s play in our live match report here. For a more in-depth look, read our talking points from the day here.
We have also taken a closer look at Kohli’s unbeaten innings of 82 which can be read here.
Kohli and Rahane staged India’s fightback at Perth.
1:00pm – Opener Evin Lewis returns to Windies fold
West Indies opener Evin Lewis has returned to the international fold once again after he was named in the 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 series against Bangladesh.
Lewis had created a flutter recently when he turned down a white-ball contract with Cricket Windies in October this year.
Read more on this story here.
Evin Lewis is back in the Windies limited-overs setup.
11:30am – Virat Kohli leads India’s fightback in Perth
The second Test between Australia and India is finely poised with the second day bringing an enthralling battle between the two sides.
After India bowled out the hosts for 326 runs in their first innings, Australia’s pacers shot back with the new ball to dismiss KL Rahul and Murali Vijay cheaply.
Skipper Virat Kohli is leading India’s fightback with the bat. Do not miss the action from Perth by following our ball-by-ball coverage here.
Kohli and Pujara are battling it out in the middle for India.
11:00am – Sri Lanka fight back in opening Test against Kiwis
New Zealand made a bright start in their opening Test against Sri Lanka at Wellington as they reduced the visitors to 275-9 at stumps on day one.
Tim Southee was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers with the seamer with figures of 5-67 as Sri Lanka fought back through half-centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews and Niroshan Dickwella
Read more on the day’s play in our report here.
Tim Southee picked up three early wickets on day one.
10:00am – Pakistan win hosting rights to 2020 Asia Cup
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been awarded the hosting rights to the 2020 Asia Cup although it remains unclear as to where the tournament will be held.
On Thursday, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Nazmul Hassan confirmed that the PCB would host the 2020 edition of the tournament which will once again be held in the T20 format.
Read more on this development here.
The Asia Cup could be held in the UAE once again.
