SPORTS

The Indian Premier League is unarguably the biggest cricket league in the world, not just in terms of size but also in terms of quality and money on offer. 

IPL 2022 is set to be a lengthier season with two more teams - Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans - added to the league from this year. 

While IPL is a still world over, it has been blamed, every now and then, for its negative impact on international teams. 

For example, this year after losing Ashes, former England players and experts argued that English players priortising IPL has led to the decline of Test cricket in England. 

The first Test between India and Sri Lanka scheduled to be played in Mohali from March 4 will not be held behind closed doors as initially planned, BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed. The match will be former India captain Virat Kohli's 100th Test for India.

"The first Test between India and Sri Lanka to be played at the Punjab Cricket Stadium in Mohali will not be held behind closed doors. The decision to allow spectators into the ground is one taken by the State Cricketing Associations and in the present circumstances, is based on various factors. I have spoken with the PCA office bearers and they have confirmed that cricket fans will be able to witness the historic moment of Virat Kohli playing his 100th Test match," Jay Shah said in a statement on Tuesday (March 1)

Australia off-spinner Steve O'Keefe revealed that dismissing Virat Kohli in the first Test of the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Pune is his favourite dismissal from the longest format of the game. In that match, O'Keefe scalped 6/35 in both innings, finishing with overall figures of 12/70 as Australia won by a whopping 333 runs.

"My most memorable (wicket) was probably Virat Kohli in India. I knocked him over, we were playing on this absolute dust bowl of a wicket, it was spinning and ragging sideways. It was an absolute tip of a wicket, junk. Ravi Shastri described the wicket of having dermatitis, it was that bad, it had holes in it," O'Keefe said on SEN 1170 The Run Home show.

In-form batter Shreyas Iyer struck a third successive fifty to guide India to a facile seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I in Dharamsala on Sunday as the hosts completed a 3-0 clean sweep. The win was India’s 12th on the trot which is the joint-highest in the history of the format.

IND vs SL 2022, 3rd T20I: Shreyas Iyer, Bowlers Guide India to Series Sweep in Dharamsala© Provided by News18 IND vs SL 2022, 3rd T20I: Shreyas Iyer, Bowlers Guide India to Series Sweep in Dharamsala

Iyer struck an unbeaten 73 off 45 with nine fours and a six help India overhaul the target of 147 in 16.5 overs. This was India’s third straight straight 3-0 series sweep after they blanked New Zealand (2021) and West Indies (2022) earlier.

The Governing Council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday (February 25) announced the two groups and the division of matches for the upcoming IPL 2022. The IPL GC also finalised March 26 as the start date for the 15th edition of the IPL.

The tournament will kickstart from 26th March and the final will be played on 29th May. "A total of 70 league matches will be played across four international standard venues in Mumbai and Pune. The venue for the playoff matches will be decided later," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said in release.