All posts tagged: Cricket Match Preview

Slow and spin-friendly pitch, difficult to hit through the line, a splash of rain

Slow and spin-friendly pitch, difficult to hit through the line, a splash of rain

Published by Webster

4 min readColomboUpdated: Feb 13, 2026 08:27 PM IST Shortly before the clock struck 5 pm on Friday, the groundstaff at the Premadasa brought in the tarpaulin covers and placed it over the pitch that was just watered. With a fair amount of grass on it, the reason to put the covers on without any cloud cover was that they preferred the pitch to have good sweating and retain as much moisture in the lead up to Sunday when India and Pakistan will square-off. The moisture, the groundstaff, expect will ensure there is a good contest between bat and ball and it won’t be a slow, sluggish pitch for the highly-anticipated match. Sri Lanka’s Met department has also issued a special bulletin which may not be of good news for fans on either side of the border: “A low-pressure area is likely to form over the southeastern Bay of Bengal around February 15.” As both teams assembled in Colombo ahead of the match of this T20 World Cup, India and Pakistan know they have to …

Italy ready for Nepal wave at Wankhede

Italy ready for Nepal wave at Wankhede

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Feb 11, 2026 08:38 PM IST “To win in front of 35,000 people would be pretty special.” “We’d much prefer to play in front of 35,000 Nepalese than no one.” Italy captain Wayne Madsen and coach John Davison know exactly what their team will walk into at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.The last afternoon match at the venue, England vs Nepal on Sunday, turned into a home game for the underdogs. The stands were packed with Nepalese supporters, and the noise barely faded during their team’s spirited chase. Italy, who opened their T20 World Cup campaign with a loss to Scotland in Kolkata on Monday, will experience that atmosphere for the first time. However, Madsen, who will miss the game due to a shoulder injury, insists that the crowd factor was something to look forward to, not feared. “Clearly there are going to be a lot of Nepalese supporters in the stadium backing their team, and that’s something we as players have to deal with. The noise at the Wankhede during the …

‘Play like you do when you’re a kid in backyard’

‘Play like you do when you’re a kid in backyard’

Published by Webster

With the Australian team management picking up 19-year-old youngster Sam Konstas in their squad for the Boxing Test match against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Melbourne, Australian skipper Pat Cummins has put his faith in the youngster. Cummins, who had made his debut in South Africa in 2011, remembered days prior to his debut and told Sam Konstas to ‘enjoy the moment’. “I think you always want to do well (but) I was saying this to Sam (Sam Konstas) the other day, I remember that as an 18-year-old, I was thinking I got a lot more leeway because I was young. It almost felt like if I didn’t have a great game, it wasn’t my fault. It was the selectors’ fault for picking me. I was like, ‘Well, they’re the idiots who picked an 18-year-old’. You’re so young starting out your career (and) it’s Boxing Day. It doesn’t get any better than this, so just enjoy the moment,” Pat Cummins told the media ahead of the Boxing Day Test. The 19-year-old opener has made …

Travis Head passes fitness test for Boxing Day Test; Scott Boland named in XI

Travis Head passes fitness test for Boxing Day Test; Scott Boland named in XI

Published by Webster

Boxing Day Test: After a nervous wait of a few days, Australia will be able to call on Travis Head in the fourth India vs Australia Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The in-form Travis Head has been officially passed fit ahead of the Boxing Day Test. According to reports from Australia, captain Pat Cummins confirmed this on Christmas. He also added that teenager Sam Konstas will make his debut, replacing Nathan McSweeney, while Scott Boland will make a return to the Playing XI. Boland will find a place in the Playing XI in place of the injured Josh Hazlewood. “Trav’s (Travis Head) good to go, he’ll play,” Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins was quoted as saying by multiple media organisations. “He just ticked off some final things today and yesterday. But no worries about injury with Trav. He’ll go into the game fully fit.” There was a cloud over Travis Head playing in the Boxing Day Test because he had suffered a minor quad strain while batting in the Brisbane Test last week. …