Cricket Live Line

Steven Smith looks to be ready to play in the second Test match against the West Indies after using a baseball batting cage in New York to speed up his recovery from a dislocated finger. He tested his hand in heat similar to the Caribbean by hitting tennis balls, soft balls, and then cricket balls in the shaded cage. Smith informed reporters that a batting cage was located beneath this bridge. Being in the shade was beneficial because it was very warm, about 36 degrees Celsius. My friend was able to throw me a few balls there and actually told me about it. Smith’s right little finger was compound dislocated during the World Test Championship final versus South Africa. He skipped the first test in Barbados and stayed in his New York home since his finger was tightly wrapped and his movement was restricted. The 36-year-old says he hopes to train properly in Grenada now that his finger feels good. Everything was nice. It will be easier to get my hand in the glove now that my sutures have ...

In a high-scoring, last-ball thriller in Dallas, the Washington Freedom defeated the LA Knight Riders by five wickets, leaving Andre Russell and Jason Holder stunned. After defeating the Texas Super Kings to take second place, Freedom strengthened their chances of finishing in the top two and moved one step closer to securing their postseason berth. The crucial chase was reduced to seven runs in six balls. Even though Andre Russell bowled a wide and gave up a four next to cut the equation to 2 off 5, he continued to chase till the very finish. He maintained the Knight Riders in the game till the final ball by hitting his short balls and wide yorkers with precision. Jason Holder brought all of his fielders in to stop the single since he needed one, but he ended up losing a catch that came to him at mid-on and popped out of his hands. After making a dive, he was able to hold onto it on his second try, and Glenn Phillips and Obus Pienaar took the match-winning single. The Knight Rid...

In the upcoming Twenty20 International tri-series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Harare, Rassie van der Dussen will captain a revamped and diminished South African team. In lieu of Captain Aiden Markram and a few other regulars who were rested as part of their workload management, Van der Dussen has been named captain. This year, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, an exciting young opener who topped the SA20 run charts, received his first call-up. The opportunity to make his T20I debut will be given to Corbin Bosch, who has already participated in Test and ODI matches. Senuran Muthusamy, who has represented the country in the previous two formats, and Rubin Hermann, another player who made an impression in the SA20, round out the roster of uncapped players selected for this series. Pacers Gerald Coetzee and Nandre Burger have also returned, which has helped South Africa. Both fast bowlers are now playing in the MLC despite having been recovering from ongoing injuries. Dewald Brevis, another...

When questioned about the positives of the first Test loss to England, India's head coach Gautam Gambhir looked unimpressed to praise individual genius like Rishabh Pant's twin hundreds, stating that it all comes down to outcomes, which his team was unable to attain. Gambhir, who never holds back when answering questions about how it felt to see vice skipper Pant's spectacular knocks that eventually failed to change the outcome of the match for India, responded in a pretty confrontational manner. "There are still three hundred years left. They are also quite beneficial. He responded to a direct query about Pant with a single sentence: "Thank you." Gambhir responded, "I would have liked if you said there was a hundred from Yashasvi (Jaiswal), hundred from Shubman (Gill) on debut as captain," when asked about the overall positives. "To be honest, five centuries in a Test match is a fantastic start, especially considering that KL (Rahul) h...

The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 16-man roster for the forthcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, marking the return of left-handed opener Naim Sheikh to the one-day setup after nearly two years. July 2–8 is the planned date for the ODI series. Colombo will host the first two ODIs, while Pallekele will host the final game. In addition to Naim, the BCB decided to bring in some new players, including Litton Das, Shamim Patwary, Tanvir Islam, and Hasan Mahmud, who all returned to the ODI team. Soumya Sarkar and Nasum Ahmed were excluded from the last team that participated in the Champions Trophy, while Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah retired from ODI cricket. Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed, both pace bowlers, made their comebacks to the national team after missing the Twenty20 Internationals due to injuries. Naim made his debut against Zimbabwe in Sylhet in March 2020 and has since played eight ODIs, scoring 95 runs. Regarding Naim, BCB head selector Gazi Ashraf Ho...

On the second day, Rishabh Pant dominated Headingley, reaching his seventh Test century, the most by an Indian wicketkeeper, surpassing even MS Dhoni. Along with that, it carried on India's impressive batting display from the first innings of the series' opening Test. However, India was pinned back by England's four wickets in the second half of the session. Given the base that India had already established, Pant had permission to break free. Since neither the pitch nor the circumstances had changed significantly, both overnight hitters were able to use more fluid strokeplay. In the second over of the day, Shubman Gill got off to a spectacular off drive, but Pant quickly caught up. Brydon Carse was the target of his first three boundaries on Day 2, and as offspinner Shoaib Bashir entered the match, he started to open up more. In the same over, he cut him over midwicket for six after greeting him with a paddle for four. He entered his nineties as a result. There was a so...

The new head of female cricket at Cricket Victoria is Kirby Short, a former captain of the Brisbane Heat who won the WBBL. In 2018–19 and 2019–20, Short, 38, led Heat to successive WBBL championships and participated in 67 WBBL games as a spinning all-rounder. Throughout her extensive WNCL career, she also captained Queensland Fire. She succeeds Sharelle McMahon, who left the position last year to return to netball in a high performance capacity, as Victoria's new head of female cricket under general manager of high performance Graham Manou. Short stayed involved in the sport after retiring as a player in 2020, serving as a director for Queensland Cricket and a pundit for Fox Sports and Channel Seven. Even though she is from Queensland, Short expressed her excitement about moving to Victoria, where she has family relationships. “It seems very fitting that I have the privilege of contributing to the advancement of women’s cricket in this state, as my grandfather, Mick Harvey, ...

In a high-scoring match in the T20I tri-series in Glasgow on Wednesday, the Netherlands defeated Scotland by 17 runs thanks to opener Michael Levitt's breezy 90. When the Netherlands was invited to bat, his 57-ball innings helped them reach 198 for 7. On the strength of Michael Leask's rapid 46 and Brandon McMullen's half-century, Scotland's reply was only 181 for 9. Max O'Dowd and Teja Nidamanuru were removed from the Netherlands during the powerplay, but Levitt and Scott Edwards' 75-run third-wicket partnership off 45 balls helped the team reach a respectable score. Edwards added a 21-ball 31 to Levitt's performance, which included six fours and five sixes. Levitt had previously hit a century in T20I cricket. The threatening stand was broken by fast bowler Charlie Cassell, who trapped Edwards leg before wicket in the thirteenth over. Fast bowler Jasper Davidson removed Levitt three overs late. To make sure the Netherlands had enough on the board, Ryan ...

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) gave its first central contracts to Otago batter Bella James and Auckland left-arm seamer Bree Illing. Hayley Jensen and Sophie Devine’s contract gaps were filled by the two, who are presently on tour in England with New Zealand. A. Devine, who announced her ODI retirement following the upcoming World Cup, has chosen to play on a recreational basis, while Jensen recently retired. This summer, Illing, a 21-year-old swing bowler, made her ODI and T20I debut against Sri Lanka. With an average of 21, she was Auckland’s top wicket-taker in domestic cricket the previous season. James signed a contract after helping Otago win another Hallyburton Johnstone (HBJ) Shield with her batting prowess. In December 2024, she made her ODI debut, and in March 2025, she made her T20I debut against Australia. When playing Sri Lanka, Bree had an outstanding series. She is ready for international cricket, according to New Zealand women’s head coach Ben Sawyer, who praised her for he...

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has cleared Dindigul Dragons and its skipper, R Ashwin, of all charges related to ball tampering. After Dragons defeated them by nine wickets on Saturday, June 14, the Siechem Madurai Panthers accused them of tampering with the match ball with towels laced with chemicals. According to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), there was no indication of ball tampering during the game in question. “The towels in question were TNCA-issued and equally available to both teams,” announced Prasanna Kannan, the CEO of the TNPL. The referee and umpires were part of the Playing Control Team, which kept complete control of the ball during the game. During play, no issues were brought up, and no concrete proof has been offered. The accusations seem to be post-facto and hypothetical. However, the franchise based in Madurai has the choice to look into conducting an independent investigation into the issue; a formal request for this must be made by Tuesday, June ...

India and Pakistan are set to face off on October 5 in Colombo during the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. India is co-hosting the event with Sri Lanka, and following a neutrality agreement between the BCCI and PCB, all India-Pakistan ICC matches through 2027 are being held at neutral venues; hence, Pakistan’s games, including this one, will be in Colombo. The tournament runs from September 30 to November 2, with India opening against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. The group stage features 28 matches across five venues: Bengaluru (M. Chinnaswamy), Guwahati (ACA), Indore (Holkar), Visakhapatnam (ACA ‑ VDCA), and Colombo (R. Premadasa). Semi-final venues depend on Pakistan’s qualification, with the first semi-final on October 29 in Guwahati or Colombo and the second on October 30 in Bengaluru. The final on November 2 will be held in Bengaluru or Colombo. The full match schedule (dates, venues, and IST timings) is detailed in the article’s table.

The San Francisco Unicorns began their Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 campaign in blistering fashion, thanks to a record-shattering performance from opener Finn Allen . The Kiwi batter dismantled the Washington Freedom bowling lineup at the Oakland Coliseum, scoring an electrifying 151 off just 51 balls Key highlights: Fastest century in MLC history (34 balls), breaking the previous 40-ball record Fastest 150 in T20 cricket (49 balls), surpassing the previous mark of 52 19 sixes in the innings , eclipsing Chris Gayle’s and Sahil Chauhan’s tally of 18

Bob Willis set the record in 1982 with a five-wicket haul against India. Pat Cummins broke it with six wickets to his name. Cummins also completed 300 wickets in Test cricket.  He needed six wickets to achieve the milestone, and in the first innings itself, the Australia captain dominated after the lunch break and got the job done single-handedly. Courtesy of his brilliant spell, Australia managed a 74-run lead in the first innings.

Nicholas Pooran, the dynamic wicket-keeper batter from Trinidad and Tobago, has been appointed captain of MI New York for the 2025 season of Major League Cricket, signaling the franchise’s ambition to build on its inaugural title in 2023. However, in a surprising move, the 29-year-old announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on June 9, 2025 , bringing an end to a decorated West Indies career. Pooran leaves international cricket with unmatched credentials: Participated in 106 T20 Internationals, scoring 2,275 runs, making him the West Indies’ all-time leading T20I run-scorer. Hit 149 sixes, ranking fifth globally in T20Is. Played 61 ODIs, scoring nearly 2,000 runs with three centuries. In his emotional Instagram announcement, Pooran reflected on his entire career: “Wearing that maroon, standing for the anthem… to have led the team as captain is a privilege I will always hold close to my heart.” Sources noting the reactions: Cricket West Indies formally thanked ...

At just 29, Trinidadian wicketkeeper-batsman Pooran has been a linchpin in West Indies white-ball cricket since his debut in 2016. He played 106 T20Is and 61 ODIs, captained the side, and amassed 2,275 T20I runs with a strike rate above 136—marking him as the Caribbean’s most prolific in that format. His last international appearances were the December 2024 T20 series against Bangladesh and the July 2023 ODI versus Sri Lanka. Wake-Up Call : The article emphasizes this trend shouldn’t be viewed in isolation; it’s potentially the beginning of a wave of high-profile retirements driven by franchise cricket’s growth—and cricket boards globally need to address the root causes to preserve international formats. Nicholas Pooran’s early retirement at 29 is a clear indicator that international cricket is at a crossroads—with the booming franchise economy pulling elite talent away. His departure, echoing recent exits by other stars, urges cricket boards worldwide to rethink how they incentivize n...

After Portugal lifted the UEFA Nations League, Cristiano Ronaldo was visibly overwhelmed with   tears, hands on his head, and emotional celebration. This intense reaction led fans on social media to compare it to the iconic moment when Virat Kohli performed a similar emotional celebration upon winning a big match or tournament. The mention of “reproduces ‘Virat Kohli moment’” refers to the shared emotion and body language seen in both athletes,   Ronaldo and Kohli, in moments of triumph.

In a significant development in the cricketing world, the Test series between India and England will henceforth be contested for the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy , replacing the Pataudi Trophy. This change pays tribute to two of the game’s stalwarts: Sachin Tendulkar , the highest run-scorer in Test history with 15,921 runs, and James Anderson , England’s leading wicket-taker with 704 Test wickets. The new trophy will be officially unveiled by Tendulkar and Anderson during the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s on June 11, 2025 . The upcoming five-Test series between India and England, commencing on June 20, 2025 , at Headingley, Leeds, will be the first to feature this trophy. Previously, the Pataudi Trophy, named after former India captains Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, was awarded for Test series played in England since its inception in 2007. In India, the corresponding series is played for the Anthony de Mello Trophy , named after one of the BCCI’s ...

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has announced financial assistance of ₹10 lakh for each of the families of the 11 individuals who lost their lives during a stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The tragic incident occurred on June 4, 2025, during the team’s victory celebrations following their Indian Premier League (IPL) win. In addition to the fatalities, 47 people sustained injuries.

In a historic moment for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the team finally lifted their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy by defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a nail-biting final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. RCB secured a 6-run win, defending their total of 190/9 in a high-pressure match. Veteran star Virat Kohli , who has been part of the franchise since 2008, played a key role with the bat, scoring a crucial 43 runs. Emotional scenes unfolded as Kohli broke into tears following the win, ending an 18-year-long trophy drought for the franchise. Krunal Pandya’s stunning spell of 2/17 helped seal the win, despite a late charge from PBKS. The cricketing world erupted in celebration, with fans and celebrities flooding social media with messages of joy. The long-running RCB slogan “ Ee Sala Cup Namdu ” finally turned into reality — this year, the cup truly belonged to Bengaluru.

The Indian Premier League 2025 Final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) will take place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday, June 3. More than two months later, on Tuesday, June 3, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings will square off in a thrilling final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to wrap up the coveted IPL 2025. After nine victories and four defeats in 14 games, RCB was able to secure the second position in the standings. In a lopsided Qualifier 1 match, they defeated Punjab Kings by eight wickets. At Mullanpur’s Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, the Rajat Patidar-led team easily won with 60 balls remaining after dismissing the opposition for just 101. Following the terrible Qualifier 1 match, the team led by Shreyas Iyer had to make the longer trip to the finals. On Sunday, they took on the Mumbai Indians (MI), five-time winners, in Qualifier 2.  Iyer scored a captain’s innings of 87* after t...

In a high-stakes IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Punjab Kings delivered a stunning performance to defeat the Mumbai Indians by five wickets and book their place in the final. Chasing a challenging target of 204, captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front with a spectacular unbeaten 87 off just 41 balls. PBKS kept their nerves intact in a tense chase, with crucial contributions from the middle order, eventually reaching the target with five balls to spare. This victory marks a historic moment for the franchise, as they reach the IPL final for the first time in 11 years. The final showdown is set for June 3, where Punjab Kings will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a clash that will crown a new IPL champion.