SPORTS

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday announced the itinerary for England’s tour of India, which will begin with a four-match Test series from February 5th, 2021. The third match of the series will be a day-night affair, which will be hosted in Ahmedabad.

England will also play a five-match T20I series and will conclude the tour with a three-match ODI series. This will be the first major international series played in the country since the Covid-19 breakout. India’s last home series against South Africa was abandoned due to the pandemic.

Keeping the current quarantine situation in mind, the matches will be played in three centres. The first two Tests will be played in Chennai, while Ahmedabad will host the last two Tests and all the five T20 internationals. Pune will host the three ODIs.

Parthiv Patel, who made his debut at the age of 17 for the Indian cricket team during their tour of England in 2002, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The decision brings an end to his 18-year cricketing journey which saw him scale the peaks of Indian cricket team’s success in Australia and Pakistan while it also saw his career being overshadowed by the emergence of MS Dhoni from the period of 2005 all the way until 2020. Parthiv Patel was also part of several franchises for the IPL from Chennai Super Kings to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Parthiv Patel took to his official Twitter handle and made the announcement with a ‘heavy gratitude towards many’. Parthiv Patel did not feature in any games for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020.

On his Twitter account, Parthiv Patel wrote, “Today, I announce my retirement from all forms of cricket as I bring the curtains down on this 18-year cricketing journey. I feel heavier with gratitude towards many. The BCCI showed a generous amount of confidence and faith in a 17-year-old boy to play for India. I am thankful to all the captains I have played under but I am especially indebted to Dada (Sourav Ganguly), who showed immense faith in me.”

Australia defeated India by 12 runs in the final T20I to avoid a 3-0 whitewash against the visitors, who committed several fielding and review blunders at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Tuesday. India lost the opportunity to come back into the match on numerous occasions and that ultimately cost them a chance to whitewash Australia in their own backyard in T20Is after 4 years.

Notably, this is India's first defeat in 12 T20Is. Skipper Virat Kohli played a terrific knock of 85 runs (61 balls) but failed to take India over the line as wickets kept on falling from the other end. A ray of hope arised when Hardik Pandya shifted gears in the 17th over but Adam Zampa was quick to block it by dismissing the hard-hitting batsman in the 18th over.

India have a golden chance to claim a 3-0 series sweep in Australia without really hampering their preparation for the upcoming Test series.

Neither Jasprit Bumrah nor Mohammed Shami were required in the series-clinching win on Sunday night with India's attack doing the job in pegging back Australia after conceding a fast start. T Natarajan was outstanding again with the ball while Shardul Thakur played a role as well in controlling Australia through the middle overs after Matthew Wade's onslaught.

Both have the chance to embed themselves in India's T20 set-up while Tuesday could provide an opportunity for India to experiment with their batting line-up with the series won thanks to Hardik Pandya's heroics.

Team India on Sunday defeated Australia in the second T20I of the series thus extending their winning streak in T20Is to 10 games, which helped them broke Pakistan’s big T20I record.

Notably, a win on Sunday didn’t only help India bag the three-match series but it also extend their winning streak in T20Is to 10 games thus breaking rivals Pakistan’s record, who won nine T20I games on a trot in 2018.

From July 2018 to November 2018, the Green shirts had defeated Zimbabwe and then Australia twice in a tri-series in Harare. They then won thrice each against the Aussies and the Black Caps in the UAE.

However, the Men in Blue have now surpassed Pakistan’s record with the win at Sydney on Sunday, which was their tenth consecutive T20I victory on the trot.