Alaister Cook to retire from International cricket

Alastair Cook to retire from International Cricket

England's all-time highest run scorer- Alastair Cook has decided to retire from International cricket soon after the last test match (of the series) against India at the Oval. Great Alastair is an opening batsman of England and is fighting form from many matches. He is averaging 18.62 of the nine matches this year. Alastair made his test debut in Nagpur in 2006 and scored a century on his debut.

Alastair Cook raising his bat.

Image source- www.skysports.com

33-year-old Alastair is having 12,254 Test runs and stands on 6th position of most run scorers in the history of Test Cricket. Cook was a threat to Sachin Tendulkar's record of most runs in Test cricket. He is 3,667 runs behind the Master Blaster. Cook has the record of most unbroken appearances in Test cricket in the World. His last test match in International cricket at Oval against India will be his 159th appearance. Cook also holds the record of most number of centuries for England in Test cricket (32).

"After much thought and deliberation over the last few months I have decided to announce my retirement from international cricket at the end of this Test series against India"- said Alastair Cook.

After the retirement of Andrew Strauss from Test cricket, England has tried 12 opening partners with Cook but none is proven to be a proper replacement. The Legend England former captain- Alastair Cook will continue to play for Sussex but, it is a mammoth task on England selectors to find 2 proper Opening Batsmen for their nation in Test cricket.

Alastair Cook will always be remembered and respected for his great batting technique and relatively good guidance to the youngsters. He is and will be one of the greats in Test Cricket of all time.

England wins the Test series by 3-1 with a match to go

England wins the Test series by 3-1 with a match to go.

England seals the five-match test series against India by 3-1 by winning the 4th match at Southampton. The 4th match was scheduled on 30th August and went till 2nd September. Moeen Ali proving to be the nemesis for India took 9 wickets in the match. He is awarded as Man of the Match. Despite, a good fight, India fell 60 runs short of the target of 245 runs.

Moeen Ali celebrating.

Image source- www.iol.co.za

It was a neck to neck competition where England won the toss and decided to bat first. After England were 6 down at 86 it looked that Indians will restrict the hosts under 150. But, Sam Curran and Moeen Ali took the team to a total of 246. Visitors replied well with a century of Pujara and scored 271 runs. England’s middle and lower middle order gave a target of 245 to the Indians. The Indian side was 3 down at the score of 22 and was in serious trouble. But Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane stabilized the situation. They secured a 101 run- stand. It all looked well controlled till the magical Moeen took an important wicket of Virat. Ajinkya was batting well but was not supported well. Resultingly, he lost his wicket. Later Ashwin had some runs but those were not enough to take the team home. Moeen Ali took 4 wickets in the later innings and India tumbled down at 184 runs.

It was a great competition. England leads the 5 match series by 3-1 but, the gap isn’t much big (if I talk about the performances of both sides). Sam Curran was exceptional in this series. He played the role of an all-rounder in difficult times. But now, let’s get tuned for the next match and for the Asia Cup and hope for some good action.

Carolina Marin wins Gold at BWF World championship; Sindhu settles for Silver.

Carolina Marin wins Gold at BWF World championship; Sindhu settles for Silver

Spanish shuttler Carolina Marin defeats P.V Sindhu in the finals of BWF World championship and wins the Gold medal. This match was played on 5th August 2018 at Nanjing, China. Carolina sealed the match in straight sets by 21-19 and 21-10 and becomes the 1st woman to crown 3 women singles Gold medals in BWF Championship. 

Image 1- Marin with a gold bite.

Image 2- Marin in happy tears.

Match Summary :

P.V Sindhu looked comfortable when she led the 1st set by 15-11. But the Olympian champion came back stronger and sealed the 1st set by 21-19. Possibly, this was the most important come back of the match. Marin didn't give many chances to Sindhu in the 2nd set and took a heavy lead of 19-7. Sindhu tried her best to come back as she did in the semi-finals, which she won after trailing by 12-19 in the 2nd set. But this time Sindhu managed to score only 3 points after that heavy trail. Resultingly, Spanish shuttler won the 2nd set by 21-10. Marin won the Gold medal and Sindhu would have to settle for Silver. This was a great show by both of them.

Here are the podium winners.

Marin has now won 3 gold medals in BWF women singles World championship. First in 2014, then defended in 2015, and now in 2018. She is roaring and must be looking forward to winning the Gold in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Smriti Mandhana smashes joint fastest T20 fifty

Smriti Mandhana smashes joint fastest T20 fifty

Left handed Indian batter Smriti Mandhana hits joint fastest T20 fifty in the women's cricket. She achieved this feat in KIA Super league when she was batting for Western Storm in a rain shortened match of 6 overs. Mandhana took just 18 balls to equal the record of New Zealand's Sophie Devine.

Mandhana hitting the ball. 

Image source- www.cricketcountry.com

The match between Western Storm(West) and Loughborough Lightning (Lough) was scheduled on 29th July. Lough won the toss and decided to bowl. The match got shortened to 6 overs per side due to rain. Smriti took on the bowlers early and remained not out at 52 of 19 balls. West's score was 85-2 after the innings.

Sophie Devine was present in the opposition team and made 46 runs in her innings but couldn't take her team to the victory. Lough's finals score was 67-0.  As the result, West won the match by 18 runs.

Mandhana is the first Indian women to play in Women's English Premier League. This player is a gem in the Indian women's team. She is an emerging talent who has bagged 3 ODI centuries in One Day Cricket. 

France recreates history!

France recreates history at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

France defeats Croatia by 4-2 in the World Cup final and wins the World cup for the second time, after 1998. The underdogs- Croatia played extremely well but would have to settle as runner-ups.

France lifting their 2nd crown.
Image source- www.telegraph.co.uk

About the game:

France took an early lead through an own goal from Mario Mandzukic (Croatian forward) in the 18th minute. Ivan Perisic equalised well for Croatia in the 28th minute but, Antoine Griezmann reestablished the French lead. It was France 2 and Croatia 1 at the end of 1st half.

Croatians were on the attack but Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé enlarged the lead for France in the second half. French men started realising that their time is coming! Though Mario Mandzukic scored a goal in the 69th minute, Croatia trailed by 2 goals at the end of the match. 

The Final score was 4-2.

A hard fought journey of the Croatians came to an end. They trailed in every knockout match in this world cup and won every of that except the final, where it mattered the most. It would have been a shocking night if Croatia would have won it but rather I would have loved that night.

Next was the presentation ceremony in which the World Cup was awarded to France and few awards were presented to players. The list is as follows:-

1. Young Player of the tournament-  Kylian Mbappé.

2. Golden Ball Winner- Luka Modric.

3. Golden Boot Winner- Harry Kane.

4. Golden Glove Winner- Thibaut Courtois.

England smashes highest total in ODI cricket; Morgan highest run scorer for England

England smashes highest total in ODI cricket; Morgan highest run scorer for England

The inventors of cricket were in action again when they scored 481 runs and broke the record of most runs in One- Day International (ODI). The previous record of 444 runs in ODI was also held by England, which they scored in 2016 against Pakistan. They have now achieved this feat against the mighty Aussies in the 3rd ODI, played on 19th June 2018 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Australia is on tour of England for 5 ODI's and 1 T20i match. Eion Morgan- Captain of England smashed the fastest ODI half century for England in just 21 balls. Morgan also becomes the highest run scorer for England in ODI, surpassing Ian Bell's mammoth 5416 runs. He has the record now in his name with 5443 runs.

Image source- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first. From England, Bairstow and Hales are the centurions, while Roy and Morgan are the half centurions. England are dominating the Australians as they have won 2 out of 2 matches and are favorites to win this match too. It would be more difficult for Aussies as they are missing Steve Smith and opener David Warner. 

Lets find out,  whether Australia will chase the record breaking target, or will England seal the series!

Russia deafeats Saudi Arabia in the World Cup opener

Russia defeats Saudi Arabia in the FIFA World Cup opener

 The most awaited FIFA World cup has been kicked off . This time it's Russia to host it. A wonderful opening ceremony welcomed the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Reputed singer- Robbie Williams, sang few songs like 'Angels' and 'Let me entertain you'. President of Russia- Vladimir Putin was in attendance and gave an introductory speech. There are 32 teams competing against one other which are divided in 8 groups. 

The 1st match is won by Russia, who scored 5 goals and won the first game of the World cup with the biggest margin of 5-0 by beating Saudi Arabia.

Image source- ultra.zone

Match Summary:-

1st Half:

The hosts were to their target straight away as they scored the 1st goal of the edition in the 12th  minute. Iury Gazinsky scored his 1st international goal for the team and it was 1-0. Russia faced a break down when Alan Dzagoev (one of the best players they have) went out due to a sudden hamstring injury. Denis Cheryshev replaced Alan and smashed his maiden international goal for the team. It was 2-0 by the end of the 1st half. 

Russia would surely have been more relaxed team to enter the dressing room after the 1st half.

2nd Half

Saudi Arabia was pressurized when they entered the battle ground in the 2nd half. They tried to maximize their chances by scoring a goal and reverse the pressure, but they failed to do so. Russia looked really positive throughout the game. They were attacking positively and managed their 3rd goal in 71st minute. Subsitute- Artem Dzyuba scored a goal for Russia, It was 3-0 by then. Celebrations for the fans were not finished yet. They Got two chances more to celebrate when Denis Chreshev and Aleksandr Golovin scored a goal each in the extra time. It was 5-0 in the end and Russia becomes the only host nation to win the inaugural match of the World cup by a difference of 5 goals.

No host team has ever lost 1st match in the history of FIFA World Cup.

The match promised to be an exciting stuff for the audience. By this win Russia can proclaim that they have enough qualities to make it to the round of 16, which they are yet to do from last 32 years.

GOAL! Oh yeah, you will hear more sounds like this as the FIFA World Cup continuous.