Sri Lanka suffered three humiliating defeats at the hands of the Indians in the darkest passage of their ODI cricket in 2014 which was the 1st week of the month of November while Pakistan continued their purple patch in Test cricket.
Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan show
Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan slammed centuries as India recorded an easy 169-run win over Sri Lanka in the 1st ODI played at Cuttack. The Indian openers made 231 runs for the 1st wicket which gave them the best possible start to their 5-match ODI campaign.
Chief Scores:
India – 363/5 in 50 overs: Ajinkya Rahane 111, Shikhar Dhawan 113, Suresh Raina 52, Ambati Rayudu 27, Suraj Randiv 3/78.
Sri Lanka – 194 all out in 39.2 overs: Mahela Jayawardene 43, Thisara Perera 29, Upul Tharanga 28, Ishanth Sharma 4/34, Umesh Yadav 2/24, Akshar Patel 2/24.
Ambati Rayudu utilizes his opportunity
Right-handed Ambati Rayudu slammed an unbeaten 121 runs to utilize his opportunity to the maximum effect when he came to bat at number 3 against Sri Lanka in the 2nd ODI at Ahmedabad as the hosts won the match by 6 wickets. Angelo Mathews went to the top of the 2014 batting charts thanks to his valiant unbeaten 92.
Chief Scores:
Sri Lanka – 274/8 in 50 overs: Angelo Mathews 92*, Kumar Sangakkara 61, Dhammika Prasad 30*, TM Dilshan 35, Umesh Yadav 2/54, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/49, Akshar Patel 2/39.
India – 275/4 in 44.3 overs: Ambati Rayudu 121*, Shikhar Dhawan 79, Virat Kohli 49, Seekuge Prasanna 3/53.
Sri Lanka go down 3-0 despite Mahela ton
Mahela carved a delightful century but it was not enough for Sri Lanka as they failed to compete and win against the hosts India who won the 3rd ODI by 6 wickets at Hyderabad. Apart from Mahela, all the other batsmen failed while Indian top-order once again batted freely to be consistent performers.
Chief Scores:
Sri Lanka – 242 all out in 48.2 overs: Mahela Jayawadene 118, TM Dilshan 53, Seekuge Prasanna 29, Umesh Yadav 4/53, Akshar Patel 3/40.
India – 245/4 in 44.1 overs: Shikhar Dhawan 91, Virat Kohli 53, Ambati Rayudu 35, Ajinkya Rahane 31, Nuwan Kulasekara 1/37, TM Dilshan 1/10.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar win the ICC People’s Choice Award 2014
India’s bowling all-rounder, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has been named as the winner of the 2014 ICC People’s Choice award. The announcement was made during a press conference called to name the short-listed candidates for various awards during the upcoming ceremony.
He became only the fourth cricketer to emerge as the winner ever since the award was introduced in 2010. Other winners include Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and MS Dhoni.
Other nominees for this year’s LG People’s Choice Award were England women’s captain Charlotte Edwards, Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews and South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn.
Pakistan whitewash Australia 2-0
Pakistan recorded only their second Test series whitewash against Australia after winning by 356 runs on the final day in Abu Dhabi to seal a 2-0 victory.
It was their largest win in terms of runs and their first Test series success against Australia since 1994. Pakistan won the first match in Dubai by 221 runs, which had been their previous record-winning margin in terms of runs against Australia. Pakistan now moves above England to third in the world Test rankings. The biggest feature of the match was when Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq scored the fastest 50 in Test cricket and equaled the record for quickest century.
Misbah reached 50 in 21 balls on the fourth day, eclipsing Jacques Kallis of South Africa who took 24 balls in 2005. The Pakistan captain went on to match the 56-ball century mark set by West Indies legend Viv Richards in 1986.
Australia win the T20 series against South Africa 2-1
Australia came back strongly in the 2nd and 3rd T20I matches after losing the 1st match to register a 2-1 series win over South Africa in Australia. Both teams included many young players to test their bench strength and give many chances to all fringe players.
1st T20 – South Africa won by 7 wickets
2nd T20 – Australia won by 7 wickets
3rd T20 – Australia won by 2 wickets
Shakib’s century and 10-wicket haul crush Zimbabwe by 162 runs
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan became only the third player to score a century and take 10 wickets in a Test when he took 5-80 and 5-44 after making 137 to mastermind Bangladesh’s massive 162-run victory over Zimbabwe in the second Test in Khulna which gave the hosts an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The 27-year-old joined Ian Botham of England and Imran Khan of Pakistan as the only cricketers to score a hundred and claimed 10 wickets in a match. Both the previous feats were against India, Botham doing it in Mumbai in 1980 and Khan in Faisalabad in 1983.
ICC clears Al-Amin’s action
Bangladesh’s medium pacer Al-Amin Hossain’s bowling action was cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last week, which also allowed the bowler to resume international cricket. An analysis of his action, conducted at the newly accredited Sri Ramachandra University on October 20, revealed that the amount of elbow extension for all his deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC regulations.
Malcom Waller reported for suspect action
Zimbabwe off-spinner Malcolm Waller has been reported with a suspected illegal bowling action during his side’s defeat in the second Test against Bangladesh in Khulna. Waller’s bowling action will now be scrutinised further under the ICC process relating to suspected illegal bowling actions reported in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. He is required to undergo testing within 21 days, and, during this period, Waller is permitted to continue bowling in international cricket until the results of the testing are known.
James Anderson ruled out of Sri Lanka tour
England will be without James Anderson for the upcoming seven-match one-day series against Sri Lanka after he was withdrawn from the touring party in order to recover from a knee problem. England departs for their nine-game tour of Sri Lanka on 16th November and face two warm-up matches before a seven-match ODI series in preparation for next year’s World Cup, starting on 26th November in Colombo.
