2 min readUpdated: Jul 5, 2026 11:25 PM IST

Australia clinched a record-extendning seventh Women’s T20 World Cup as they beat England by seven wickets at the iconic Lord’s on Sunday in the final. A 100-run partnership between Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield for the second wicket put Australia in cruise mode in their chase of a target of 151 after they lost their first wicket in the second over. Litchfield fell on 48 off 35 balls, thus ending the stand, while Mooney went on to score 64 in 49 balls, nearly getting Australia over the finish line before falling to Sophie Ecclestone.

Senior all-rounder Ellyse Perry seemingly fell just four deliveries later, only for the third umpire to rule that Ecclestone hadn’t caught the ball cleanly.  Perry and Ashleigh Gardner then saw Australia home.

2 min readJul 5, 2026 10:23 PM IST

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took his first tentative steps in international cricket in India’s four-wicket defeat to England in the second T20I. The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi became the youngest to ever play international cricket for India and former spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan felt that he should be made to play as many games as possible now that he has been given a debut.

Sivaramakrishnan, himself among the youngest debutants of all time for India, also felt that Sooryavanshi should be introduced in ODIs as well and backed the teenager to potentially play in the 2027 World Cup. “He sure should get a chance at the upcoming 50 overs World Cup if he does exceedingly well in the T20 format. He should get an opportunity because he’s going to be a match winner,” Sivaramakrishnan told PTI. “When he scores runs, he’s going to be a match-winner in all formats of white-ball cricket,”

3 min readUpdated: Jul 5, 2026 09:52 PM IST

In a bizarre incident, a North East Premier League match between Burnopfield Cricket Club and Hetton Lyons was called off after a bull entered the field of play and kept charging at the players. After a lot of failed attempts to get the animal off the field, the match was abandoned.

The bull which weighed about 800kg had escaped from a farm and had travelled for 1.6km to reach the playing field and the animal’s owner had even driven a cow to the field in order to get the bull off the ground but the ruse had failed, according to a report by the BBC. Ultimately, the police arrived before the bull left on its own.

“We saw many close Test matches (under Shan’s captaincy). But a few things were not being addressed. Like the Centurion Test, South Africa’s two batters at No. 10 [for the tenth wicket] put on a 60-70 run partnership (51 runs). The game was in our hands. Against the West Indies in Multan, in the second Test, the team was rolled over easily,” Javed was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.

“Shan’s own performance during his tenure has been good, but as captain, he has not been able to bring the desired results. We wanted to look for a captain who comes in and leads the team better,” added Javed.

A 16-member squad has been named for the West Indies series, while a 17-member squad has been announced for the England tour. Saud Shakeel has been included as the 17th member for the England series, subject to fitness clearance.

There have been further notable changes to the squad that suffered a 2-0 whitewash in Bangladesh in May, with senior players Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, and Noman Ali all being left out.

Four uncapped players have been named in the squads: left-arm spinner Ali Usman, right-handed batter Muhammad Awais Zafar, right-arm fast bowler Ubaid Shah, and wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori – all in contention for their first Test cap.

Pakistan currently sit ninth in the World Test Championship standings.

Pakistan squad for West Indies:

Babar Azam (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam ul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah

Pakistan squad for England:

Babar Azam (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam ul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah

West Indies series schedule:

First Test: July 25-29, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba
Second Test: August 2-6, Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain

England series schedule:

First Test: August 19-23, Leeds
Second Test: August 27-31, Lord’s
Third Test: September 9-13, Birmingham

Given his first two wild swings, there could be an argument that Sooryavanshi’s reputation arrived before he did, and with it, the burden of living up to it. Sceptics had presented a case of second-season syndrome prior to IPL 2026, but the teenager’s rebuttal was fierce: he struck a first-ball boundary in each of the first four matches. Not even Jasprit Bumrah was spared.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, after getting out. (AP photo)

His first ball in international cricket was met with a fierce swing of the bat, making contact with nothing but fresh air. England captain Harry Brook said they had done their ‘homework’ to contain Sooryavanshi — the plan was to make the prodigy smell the leather. The left-hander didn’t connect any of the pulls he attempted, and was eventually undone by a quick Will Jacks slider.

Yet, even in a short stay, he produced two moments that hinted at the talent beneath the rawness — a six off Jofra Archer that a fan seated at the Sir James Anderson End will never forget, for it struck his hand with venom, and another maximum off Tongue.

At the opposite end, Abhishek Sharma began where he left off at Chester-le-Street. Three boundaries came off Sam Curran’s first over, but a wicket off the last delivery of the Powerplay set India back. Sharma’s stay ended for a 24-ball 43.

Timely knock

Despite scoring only 13 runs in his last three T20Is, Ishan Kishan had retained his place in the team as the axe fell on Sanju Samson instead. With a 49-run knock, he averted the questions heading towards the team management. With captain Shreyas Iyer playing an enforcer’s role with his 22-ball 37, striking at 168.18, Kishan constructed a 65-run third-wicket stand, accumulating 9.3 runs per over in the process.

The stand was broken by Liam Dawson.

Despite losing their captain, India were comfortably placed at 130/3 after 13 overs, with 200 in sight. The spanner in the works was thrown by Curran, with the wickets of Kishan and Shivam Dube in quick succession. That, India eventually got to 190, was courtesy a 17-run final over in which Tilak Varma struck a four and two sixes.

For the southpaw, this could just be the innings that earns him a longer rope, being only the second occasion since 2025 where his strike rate soared beyond 200.

Arshdeep Singh struck early with the ball for India, not once but twice, with both Phil Salt and Jos Buttler departing for ducks. India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is now has 15 first-over wickets to his name.

Arshdeep Singh in action after a wicket. (AP photo)

However, the joy was short-lived as Brook struck two fours and three sixes off his next over.

Axar Patel’s dismissal of Brook in the fifth over, hence, was of immense significance to India’s cause. With the captain gone, Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton prioritised consolidation over flashy shots, which saw England scoring 67 in the next 50 deliveries. Though the required run rate soared over 10, wickets in hand tipped the scales in England’s favour.

Iyer made a timely call to re-introduce Arshdeep, who got his third scalp of the match in Banton. Minutes later, Will Jacks fell prey to Varun Chakaravarthy. Like in the T20 World Cup semifinal, Bethell stood between India and victory. Except on this occasion, he took the team over the line.

A 29-run 17th over, in which Bethell struck three sixes and a four off Ravi Bishnoi, effectively sealed the game, with Bethell remaining unbeaten on a 46-ball 76.

The world is seldom satiated, and always on the hunt for the next someone. It demanded Freddy Adu become the next Pelé, Bojan Krkić the next Lionel Messi, and Prithvi Shaw the next Sachin Tendulkar. But Sooryavanshi can only become the best version of his own self.

Brief scores: India 190/7 in 20 overs (Kishan 49, Abhishek Sharma 43; Sam Curran 3/33) lost to England 191/6 in 19 overs (Jacob Bethell 76, Harry Brook 39; Arshdeep Singh 3/30) by four wickets.

3 min readUpdated: Jul 4, 2026 08:50 PM IST

England had a plan. They may have been in all sorts of turmoil in recent times, but they had done their homework on the youngest-ever cricketer to represent India.

“We have some tactical decisions. Just a matter of executing now,” captain Harry Brook said at the toss about their ploy to keep Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in check on his international debut.

Sooryavanshi’s debut seemed an inevitability at Manchester, considering the form — or the abject lack of it — of Sanju Samson in the last three matches. Anticipating the move, England had devised a plan against Sooryavanshi. Not that plans always work against the youngster, but today, they did as he only scored a 10-ball 14.

2 min readUpdated: Jul 4, 2026 07:43 PM IST

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi began his senior Indian career with a xx-ball 14 runs in an innings which had two sixes in the 2nd T20I vs England at Old Trafford on Saturday. The 15-year-old batter started in his usual aggressive tone, slamming his first six in the first ball of the 2nd over, bowled by Rajasthan Royals teammate Jofra Archer.

His second came at the expense of another debutant Josh Tongue who was taken for a six off the first ball of the third over as well. The teenager finally was bamboozled by Will Jacks in the 5th over after he tried to come down the tracks and attempt a cut. He missed the stroke and was stumped by Jos Buttler for 14.

2 min readUpdated: Jul 4, 2026 07:01 PM IST

It is happening. At 15 years old, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on Saturday became the youngest to play international cricket for the India. The teenage sensation was handed his maiden cap ahead of India’s second T20I against England at Old Trafford by Tilak Varma, who had captained him in the tri-series that India A had played in Sri Lanka before the senior team’s ongoing tour of Ireland and England. Sooryavanshi has thus broken Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record for the youngest Indian debutant in men’s international cricket.

He has also broken the record for being the youngest Indian in international cricket overall, previously held by Shafali Verma who was a few days older than Sooryavanshi is when she made her debut in September 2019. India captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss that Sooryavanshi has replaced opener Sanju Samson in the lineup.

3 min readJul 4, 2026 04:57 PM IST

Australian great Matthew Hayden has warned upcoming players from trying to replicate Vaibhav Sooryavanshi‘s batting, wondering if that style is sustainable. Sooryavanshi, still waiting for an India senior team debut, has muscled in to the cricketing consciousness with his all-out attacking approach.

When Hayden was asked whether Shubman Gill’s classical batsmanship and the Bihar lad’s pyrotechnics can co-exist in T20s, he said to PTI, “We are talking about two very unique personalities. Can both (Gill and Sooryavanshi) styles exist? Absolutely. They already do. The challenge for any youngster watching someone like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is whether that style can be sustained over a long period.”

3 min readUpdated: Jul 3, 2026 07:54 PM IST

India, going to Belfast as T20 World Cup champions with a squad full of players experienced in the format and coming off the Indian Premier League, lost to Ireland. The Irish stunned the visitors in both games, whitewashing Shreyas Iyer’s men 2-0. Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said the day India lost the 2nd T20I by one run would be called one of the worst days.

“Sunday, June 28, will go down as one of the worst days in Indian cricket. Losing a game of cricket is one thing, but to lose a series, albeit a two-match series, also depends on whom you lose to,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar. “There are many low points in Indian cricket, and I have been a part of some, but to lose to Ireland has to be one of the lowest in the history of Indian cricket.”