OWeekly CRICKET Review - CXVi | Before the T20 World Cup
Hello, fellow Cricket Enthusiasts,
You already know I share a weekly wrap-up of what's happening in the Cricket community. And it's the 116th edition now.
The World of Cricket has become very busy right now with a lot of bilateral series around, especially targeting the T20I World Cup in a few
weeks. So, let's see what's going on.
England tour of Sri Lanka 2026
- England came to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series of 3 T20s and 3 ODIs from Jan 22 - Feb 03. England comfortably won the ODI series 2-1, and with one match remaining, they have already won the T20I series as well. Misery continued for Sri Lanka at the start of the year as well.
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All three ODI matches were held at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, as day and night. Sri Lanka batted first in the first match, and they posted a total of 271/6. Kusal Mendis anchored the inning with 93 runs, Janith Liyanage scored 46 runs, while Wellalage added a nice cameo at the end. Eventhough England took the first wicket early, Root and Duckett scored 117 runs for the second wicket with half-centuries. But Sri Lankan spinners took them and bowled strictly to take regular wickets. So, England was bowled out for 252 runs. Sri Lanka won by 19 runs.
"Probably the worst pitch I've ever played on", this is the remark from Brook after the second match. Sri Lanka just scored 219/10 batting first. There were just 30+ scores. Once again, Root had a good partnership of 72 runs with Ducket, and then another 84 runs with Brook. Root added 75 runs. They were too cautious this time and chased down the target with 5 wickets and four overs remaining.
- In the decider, England changed the tide completely, batting first. They scored 357/3. Duckett and Rehan fell early, but the next three just destroyed the Sri Lankan ballers. Root and Jacob Bethell added 126 runs in the middle 20 overs. But after the latter got out for 65, Brook just showed some firecrackers. In the last 113 balls, these two added 191 runs. And most of it came from Brook, who scored 136 runs off 66 balls with 9 sixes and 11 fours. Root also scored 111 runs.
Nissanka and Mishara started well, and in a hurry, with a 24-ball fifty from Pathum. But wickets began regularly as well. Pawan Ratnayaka got promoted to four, and he nicely rotated the strike, scoring good runs. He had his maiden century. But without enough support, Sri Lanka was all out for 304. England won by 53 runs. Root became the player of the series.
The T20I series was held at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. With the rain, the first match was reduced to 17 overs. Even in that, Sri Lanka was all out for just 133 runs. England chased it easily with 5 wickets remaining.
Sri Lanka batted first in the second match. Pathum and Kamil started well with 60+ runs in the power play. And Kusal and Pawan accelerated in the middle over. Sri Lanka scored 189/5 in the 20 overs. Anyhow, it was also not enough; Tom Banton and Harry Brook cooked the ballers, and they chased it with 6 wickets in hand.
New Zealand tour of India, 2026
Another big tour of 5 T20s, and 3 ODIs from Jan 11 - Jan 31.
New Zealand has come back superbly to register their first-ever ODI series win in India. They lost the first match, but came back strongly in the next to secure the series. Especially, Daryl Mitchel was the highlight, who is currently the ODI no. 01 batter. He is the highest run taker with 352 runs in three innings, at an average of 176.00. He scored two centuries and a fifty, and secured two man-of-the-match awards, along with the man of the series award as well. Virat Kohli was the next successful player, with 240 runs, a hundred, and a fifty.
- Just like the ODI series, the T20I series was also a showcase of batsmen. Here, India succeeded 4-1. We saw insane batting fire, especially from India. All 10 innings were 150+, and there were 6 200+ team totals. Even India scored 271 runs in the last match. Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Abhishek Sharma carried most of the weight, and had a small finishing touch from others.
Just look at their strike rates and you will see how amazing they were. Ishan Kishan scored his maiden century, and Suryakumar Yadav became the player of the series.
West Indies tour of South Africa, 2026
- It's just 3 T20Is from Jan 27 - Jan 31. And it was easily won by the Proteas 2-1. We saw a juicy hundred from Quinton de Kock, even coming after the retirement.
Australia tour of Pakistan, 2026
- Australia came for 3 t20I s, from Jan 29 - Feb 01. All the matches were held at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, and the Aussies had no idea of Pakistan's spinners. They were infact whitewashed. In the last two matches, Australia was bowled out for 108 and 96, respectively. In the third T20I, Pakistan won by 111 runs, which is their biggest defeat by runs.
ICC Under 19 World Cup 2026
- The 16th edition of the tournament is held in Zimbabwe and Namibia from Jan 15-Feb 06, with 16 teams. India, England, Australia, and Afghanistan have advanced to the semi-finals.
Sources
- https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/10774/england-tour-of-sri-lanka-2026/matches
- https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/10102/new-zealand-tour-of-india-2026/matches
- https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/9551/west-indies-tour-of-south-africa-2026/matches
- https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/11429/australia-tour-of-pakistan-2026/matches
- https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/11209/icc-under-19-world-cup-2026/matches
So, that's it for today!! Until next time! Enjoy!
Thank you.
Best Regards!
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