SPORTS

The excitement among cricket fans gets more and more by the day as the blockbuster 2023 World Cup nears. To be precise, it is just 78 days more left before the 13th edition of the quadrennial 50-over event kicks off at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. And Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) doubled the excitement last week when they revealed the ticket prices for the five World Cup matches slated to be held at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the act has left BCCI vexed.

It was on July 10 when CAB announced the prices for the World Cup matches at Eden Gardens, which has over the years witnessed some of the biggest clashes including the 1987 World Cup final between Australia and England and several India-Pakistan ties as well which comprises the famous 1999 Asian Test Championship match.

Sunil Gavaskar did not mince his words while talking about India's defeat in the World Test Championship final against Australia and went on to mention MS Dhoni's name while talking about Indian cricket's history. The India legend asked for the captain to be held accountable for the defeats.

Speaking at the Indian Express Idea Exchange, Gavaskar mentioned that the captains have their job secured, irrespective of the results. Gavaskar also took a subtle dig at MS Dhoni without mentioning his name.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur rued the extra runs leaked by her bowlers and said they were not up to the mark in the opening match after suffering their first-ever defeat in ODIs to Bangladesh. A four-wicket haul by debutant Amanjot Kaur went in vain as Marufa Akter and Rabeya Khan's fiery bowling helped Bangladesh clinch their first victory against India in women's ODIs as the hosts registered a 40 runs victory against visitors in the rain-curtailed opening game of the three-match series here at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday. "We had given at least 20 runs extra. We bowled many loose balls and were not up to the mark," Harmanpreet Kaur said in a post-match presentation.

Team India made short work of the West Indies in the first Test as Rohit Sharma’s men thrashed them by an innings and 141 runs to set a new record, After this massive win, India have now beaten West Indies for five times in a row in Tests for the first time. Yashasvi Jaiswal was declared as the Player of the match for stroking a beautiful-looking 171 off 387 deliveries in the first innings of the match. However, the chief architect of the win has to be R Ashwin, who picked up 12 wickets in the match.

Ashwin has come on par with Anil Kumble’s incredible numbers here. Both Kumble and Ashwin now have 8 10-wicket hauls for India in Tests, followed by Harbhajan Singh, who had five.

India ‘A’ side will open their campaign in the Emerging Asia Cup 2023 tournament on Friday with a clash against UAE ‘A’ team at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground. The Indian side will be led by Delhi and Delhi Capitals batter Yash Dhull.

India ‘A’ side features some top performers from the IPL 2023 season like Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan, who top-scored with 96 in the IPL 2023 final against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. The side also features the likes of Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma and Punjab Kings wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh.