England Test skipper Joe Root on Thursday said he is hopeful of Ben Stokes’ availability for the first Ashes Test. England and Australia will lock horns in the five-match Ashes series, beginning December 8 at the Gabba in Brisbane.

“Ben has been fully involved in training the last couple of days. It has been very light, we are just trying to acclimatise as best we can. He’s had a bat, a bowl, taken some catches, doing his fielding work slightly separately. It looks like he’s on track and it’s really exciting. It’s managing that excitement and making sure we don’t push him too hard so he’s ready for the first game,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Root as saying.

“It’s been remarkable to see how far he’s come. It looks very promising. He’s been brilliant. We’ve seen him at training, having him back amongst things is always great, so it’s really nice to have him back involved,” he added.

Stokes had last played in the ODI series against Pakistan, and then he had taken some time to look after his mental health. Stokes had undergone a secondary operation on his finger last month, to remove scar tissue.

Root also said that he is grateful to the authorities for giving his squad some leeway in quarantine ahead of the Ashes. “There are always obvious restrictions within the hotel. All we can do really is live by the guidelines that have been set out. It’s not too dissimilar to other things that we’ve experienced in the past. It’s been great, the last couple of days, that we’ve been able to get out and train and use some of the facilities, so hopefully that can continue and we can keep enjoying that, keep readying ourselves as best we can,” said Root.

“The weather is probably the hardest factor. We’ve had a big thunderstorm this afternoon which interrupted part of our training but everyone’s got into things pretty well. We’re very lucky to have been looked after like this,” he added.

A day after she was mistaken with a namesake who was killed in Haryana, wrestler Nisha Dahiya bagged the gold medal in the 65kg weight category in the ongoing Women’s National Wrestling Championship on Thursday.

Nisha who was representing Railways in the tournament showcased a dominant performance in the tournament which was held in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. This is the second time that Nisha has managed to win a senior national title. The 23-year-old has won back-to-back senior titles.

On Wednesday, refuting media reports of her death, national-level wrestler Nisha Dahiy had issued a video stating that she was alive and fine. “I am in Gonda to play senior nationals. I am alright. It’s fake news (reports of her death). I am fine,” Dahiya said in a video message issued by the Wrestling Federation of India.

England skipper Eoin Morgan confessed to a feeling of “devastation” after losing the semi-final clash at the hands of New Zealand in the ongoing T20 World Cup.England had a dream start with the ball with Chris Woakes dismissing Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson early, and Liam Livingstone’s two for 22 helping put the brakes on further. But the ship was steadied by Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway, who added 82 for the third wicket before Jimmy Neesham smashed 27 from 11 to turn the game in Kiwis’ favour.

“Yeah, we’re devastated. To be on the wrong side of a close game is not easy to take. I thought we fought unbelievably well today on a wicket that didn’t necessarily suit our batting, but we managed to post in and around a par score. We were brilliant with the ball,” said Morgan in a virtual press conference as per ICC.“We were right in the game probably until Jimmy Neesham came to the wicket, if not ahead of the game. I think throughout those innings everybody struggled to clear the ropes on both sides, and I think that was just the nature of the pitch.“So yeah, you have to take your hat off to him. He played really well,” Morgan added.

England’s preparations were disrupted by injuries to Tymal Mills and Jason Roy but Morgan refused to use that as an excuse for his side’s defeat. “I don’t think you can put a measure on missing a player. The 11 guys that took the field today gave absolutely everything. I’m extremely proud of the performance that they put in,” said Morgan.

“When you play really well, it doesn’t always guarantee that you win games. Unfortunately, we found ourselves on the wrong side of a really tight game today,” he added.

Morgan also said Neesham made hitting on the Dubai wicket looked easy as earlier the ball “wasn’t coming on to the bat”. “I think it was a very closely fought game right throughout. I thought Jimmy Neesham was probably the only guy that came out and was showing the ability to strike the ball cleanly from ball one,” said Morgan.

“I think when you look at particularly our innings, our hitting ability within our squad is quite strong, and the indication that the guys didn’t feel like they could clear the ropes due to the nature of the pitch was a good indication that it wasn’t coming on to the bat that well. I think that continued throughout the Black Caps’ innings until he came to the crease,” he signed off.

Australia skipper Aaron Finch on Thursday said that the way Matthew Wade held his nerve during the game against Pakistan was amazing to see.

Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade played unbeaten knocks of 40 and 41 respectively as Australia defeated Pakistan by five wickets to enter the final. Wade scored 41 off just 17 balls with the help of 2 fours and 4 sixes. “Never thought it was in the bag. It was a great game of cricket. The way Wade held his nerve at the end was amazing. That partnership with Stoinis was crucial. I got my feet in a tangle and opening batsmen do get a few good balls now and then in T20 cricket,” said Finch during the post-match presentation.

Earlier, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman played knocks of 67 and 55 as Pakistan scored 176/4.

“We were sloppy today in the field, a couple of tough ones. We need the support of all 17 players to get across the line. We have played some really good cricket in the back end. Teams chasing have been successful. There is no dew, the lights take effect. I was hoping I’d lose the toss, bat first and put up a good score on the board,” said Finch.

In a post-match presentation. Pakistan captain Babar Azam said, “I thought we scored as many runs as we had planned in the first innings. I think if we give such teams a chance in the back end, it is going to be costly. The turning point was that dropped catch. Had we taken it, the scenario could have been different. The way we gelled and played the entire tournament, I am satisfied as a captain.”

Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade played unbeaten knocks of 40 and 41 respectively as Australia defeated Pakistan by five wickets to enter the final of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup here at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.

Australia will now lock horns against New Zealand in the summit clash on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium. Chasing 177, Australia got off to the worst start possible as skipper Aaron Finch (0) was sent back to the pavilion by Shaheen Shah Afridi on just the third ball of the innings. However, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh did not let the momentum drop and the score read 52/1 after the end of the sixth over.

Pakistan stormed right back into the match as Shadab Khan dismissed Marsh (28), and this brought Steve Smith to the middle. In his next over, Shadab dismissed Smith (5). At the halfway mark, Australia was at 89/3, still needing 88 runs to win from 60 balls.

Shadab continued to be the match-winner for Pakistan and he got the biggest wicket possible as he sent the set batter Warner (49) back in the hut in the 11th over. Reverse and switch hits are the go-to shot for Glenn Maxwell, but this proved his downfall in this match, and Shadab bagged his fourth wicket, to reduce Australia to 96/5 in the 13th over.

In the last five overs, Australia needed 62 runs to win. Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis kept on registering boundaries and in the last two overs, Aaron Finch’s side needed 22 to win. In the second last over, Hasan Ali dropped a simple catch of Wade, and it came to bite Pakistan, as Australia registered a win by five wickets. Wade scored 41 off just 17 balls.

Earlier, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman played knocks of 67 and 55 as Pakistan scored 176/4. Asked to bat first, Pakistan got off to a steady start as openers Babar Azam and Rizwan put on 47 runs inside the first six overs. Both batters put on 71 for the first wicket, and this partnership was finally broken by Adam Zampa in the 10th over.

Babar (39) looked to break the shackles by scoring a six, but he only managed to hand a simple catch to David Warner. Fakhar Zaman joined Rizwan in the middle and the duo did not let the momentum drop for Pakistan. The duo registered boundaries at regular intervals and after 15 overs, Pakistan’s score read 117/1. Rizwan and Zaman went all guns blazing and heading into the final three overs, Pakistan had nine wickets in hand.

Rizwan (67) was sent back to the pavilion by Mitchell Starc in the 18th over and this brought the big-hitting Asif Ali in the middle. In the final three overs, Pakistan managed to add 33 more runs to take their total past 170-run mark.

After a couple of postponements due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2021-22 season of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship will kick-start in Visakhapatnam from December 16-18.

The announcement was made in a glittering function by the Sports Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Muttamseti Srinivas Rao and the promoter of INRC, Vamsi Merla here in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. This is the first time that the city host an event of such magnitude and the promoter as well the government has promised to make it a grand affair and will leave no stone unturned to deliver a spectacular and memorable event.

The event will be conducted by the Karnataka Motorsport Club and apart from round 1, they have been given the responsibility to take care of the K100 Rally as well, which is Round 2 and will take place in Bengaluru in January.

“It is a matter of huge pride for me that I am able to take the sport to new places which have always been my vision. I have always wanted motorsport to reach every nook and corner of the country. I would like to thank the Government of Andhra Pradesh for their support and cooperation,” Vamsi stated in a release.

While the promoter wanted to go all out and have a full calendar, due to paucity of time and delays, this year there will be only four rounds, with Round 3 happening in Coimbatore to be conducted by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club in February, MMSC has been awarded the right for organising the grand finale which will happen in March. The venue for the finale is yet to be decided. Apart from the championship rounds, a contender round is also being planned for April in Hyderabad.