Ajay Mathur

[Best of Cricket @bestcricstories]

THE #CRICKET ROUNDUP:

@mroller98/@deeputalks/@StocksC_cricket/@smat8415 on IND-ENG, WPL at 4, @pratyush93_raj w/Mulder, @NeilManthorp on professionalisation, @msdprobuddha on Dhoni, & @garynaylor85 on the Blast.

All stories at https://t.co/dSNh7NZgnQ

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝'𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡!

Aditya Padinjat, Siddanth Nair, and Sahil Mathur discuss who could possibly replace captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum 🏏

Watch the full episode of Sportstar's Matchpoint Paradox podcast here: https://t.co/uWgXaxgB1F

#cricket

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

The resurgence of Ishan Kishan is an interesting case study, particularly because of the butterfly effect it has had on India’s white-ball squads.

The 27-year-old was nowhere near the Indian setup eight months ago. Today, he has not only played a crucial role in India defending its T20 World Cup title earlier this year but has also become an integral part of the ODI squad.

His comeback has also made life easier for the selectors in some ways, even if it has come at the expense of a few deserving individuals.

For every Ishan inclusion, another equally deserving name has missed out. Yashasvi Jaiswal wasn’t picked for the England ODIs, while Sanju Samson was left out of the squad touring Zimbabwe later this month. One player’s resurgence has, directly or indirectly, altered the equation for others.

✍️@smat8415
🔗https://t.co/m9Cntzz99Y
📸PTI

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

🏏 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐁𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬.

For the better part of the last decade, the duo stood at opposite ends of sport’s emotional spectrum, yet somehow arrived at the same destination: indispensable to their teams and defining figures of the modern era.

Williamson made his debut in 2010 and announced himself with a century in his maiden Test against India in Ahmedabad. A year later, England handed Stokes his ODI cap. Over the next 15 years, their careers unfolded in parallel.

✍️: @smat8415

Read more: https://t.co/69Ra1qK0qG

📸: Getty Images

#cricket

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

🏏 𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻. 𝗔 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗴𝘆. 𝗔 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱 🏆

India’s tour of Ireland and England marks the start of its journey to the 2028 T20 World Cup under Shreyas Iyer, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and the next generation looking to make their mark.

Barely three months after winning a second successive T20 World Cup title, the selectors made a bold call by removing Suryakumar Yadav, who won 84 per cent of his games as India captain, from the leadership role.

Yet, despite the change in leadership, much of the buzz will centre on 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, whose extraordinary last 12 months have earned him a maiden T20I call-up.

✍️: @smat8415

Read the full article here: https://t.co/L08xEZYD0E

📸: Getty Images & SLC

#cricket

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

📍 𝐌. 𝐀. 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦

With the three-match ODI series already in the bag, India will host Afghanistan on Saturday with an eye on long-term gains.

👉 Rohit Sharma has scored 64 runs across the first two games, while Yashasvi Jaiswal managed just four in the second ODI. The team will hope both batters can make a bigger impact.

👉 Harshit Rana joined the squad and trained on Friday, with a short bowling stint followed by an extended power-hitting session.

Read @smat8415's full preview of the third ODI here: https://t.co/o7DbyWjIou

📸: Ragu R

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

While India continues to produce world-class spin-bowling all-rounders, a quiet crisis is brewing: the traditional, specialist spin pipeline is drying up.

Former players Rajesh Chauhan and Venkatapathy Raju break down why 👉 https://t.co/v6VCcdHlbw

✍️ @smat8415

#TeamIndia #IPL2026

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said it was the management’s choice if he’d return next season after Monday's home defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad dented the team's playoff chances this year.

✍️ @smat8415

Read: https://t.co/NvzkOGN4uL

📸 Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

Kolkata Knight Riders kept its playoff hopes alive with a 29-run win over Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens 🙌

👉 Finn Allen making GT pay after two dropped catches
👉 Sai Sudharsan retiring hurt during the chase
👉 Sunil Narine dismissing Shubman Gill in the 17th over

Here are the turning points from #KKRvGT by @smat8415

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐒 𝐃𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢? 🤔

He joined Chennai Super Kings training ahead of a possible home farewell against Sunrisers Hyderabad 🏏

Come Monday, anticipation is expected to peak as fans flock to the stadium hoping to catch a glimpse of their “Thala.”

Read more here: https://t.co/LpG10c238e

✍️: @smat8415
📸: B. Jothi Ramalingam

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐃𝐈 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞-𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐎𝐃𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧.

@smat8415 looks at the biggest talking points which may determine how the selectors construct the squad in the next year and a half.

▶️Fitness concern for Rohit Sharma
▶️Who’s the backup keeper?
▶️Spin factor
▶️Opportunity to test quicks
▶️Any new faces?

Read: https://t.co/7PYzFjOYT0

[Ajay Mathur @ajaydeepika]

@smat8415 @TheSaintScammer Change Captain and everything will come in order

[Ajay Mathur @ajaydeepika]

@sportstarweb Immediately need to change Captain He is not a deserving one non aggressive already surrendered at this stage and looking for next season

[Ajay Mathur @ajaydeepika]

@cricketnmore He is not a capable captain need DC to change captain

[Ajay Mathur @ajaydeepika]

@sportstarweb Good analysis

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

🔥 MI - 71 runs
🔥 SRH - 91 runs

Sunrisers Hyderabad has dominated the powerplay in its chase of 244 against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.

@smat8415 analysed how teams that win the powerplay in IPL 2026 generally have a good chance of winning the match.

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

𝗔 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗣𝗟 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀. 🔝

A look at the points table also reflects which teams have embraced this approach of setting up, or even finishing, games early. Punjab, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan, the current top four, also boast the best returns from their top three batters, especially the openers.

Winning the PowerPlay isn’t a guarantee, but it gives the batting side a significant advantage for the rest of the innings.

Read more here: https://t.co/FwUmBU4sUo

✍️: @smat8415 | 📸: R. V. Moorthy, PTI & Nagara Gopal

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

Rajasthan Royals’ head coach Kumar Sangakkara was all praise for Shubham Dubey (31*) and Donovan Ferreira (52*) who helped the team end Punjab Kings' unbeaten run in IPL 2026 on Tuesday.

✍️ @smat8415

Read: https://t.co/xoSKjTx8KY

📸 Reuters

[Sahil Mathur @smat8415]

Pitch no. 4 today for Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals match at New Chandigarh. Same pitch on which GT game was played. It rained a bit early morning and pitch was under covers throughout the day; was cloudy too till around 2 pm. Now it's fully sunny.

[Sportstar @sportstarweb]

#OnThisDay in 2⃣0⃣2⃣5⃣, a 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi created history in Jaipur with a 35-ball 100!

Guess who will have the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary in style tonight? 😉

Read @smat8415's #IPL2026 preview of #PBKSvRR: https://t.co/sVXXX1BdcK