Sports Live Blog: India begin preps for second Test against Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan is eligible for selection for the second Test against India, according to Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, who downplayed worries about his fitness following an injury he sustained in the first match.

While playing against India pacer Jasprit Bumrah in Chennai, Shakib got hurt on his finger. The second Test is scheduled to start on Friday.

The 37-year-old spin all-rounder was only used for 21 overs across two Indian innings after being brought into the attack very late.

Bangladesh gear up for the second Test against India

Kanpur has a special place in Indian cricket history, as the Green Park Stadium is the venue where India defeated Australia for the first time in Test cricket, besides it being a fortress for India since 1983.

The second Test of India's two-match series against Bangladesh will be played in Kanpur, starting September 27, after India dominated the first match with a 280-run victory to take an unassailable 1-0 lead.

Here's a trip down memory lane before India go for a series sweep in two days' time:

Rishabh Pant's performance in the Brisbane Test during India's 2020-21 tour of Australia stands out as one of the most memorable in recent Indian cricket history.

This Test, part of the famous Border Gavaskar Trophy, took place at the Gabba in Brisbane, where Australia had remained unbeaten for 32 years.

The series was tied 1-1, and this was the decider. India had already suffered multiple injuries, and many key players were unavailable for the final match.

Australian captain Pat Cummins began preparing for a massive season of Test matches later this year, beginning in November with the highly anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy against India.

Australia and India will play their first Test match of the Border Gavaskar series in Perth on November 22.

Cummins uploaded a video of himself bowling in the nets on Instagram. The Australian sensation was practicing like it was a game, showing off incredible energy during his run-up and release.

From Chennai to Kanpur

Even if Joe Root is unable to surpass Sachin Tendulkar's incredible record of 15,921 runs, he will be remembered as England's greatest batsman in Test cricket, according to his former teammate Ian Bell.

Recently, Root surpassed the legendary Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka to take sixth place on the list of the top run scorers in the longest format.

The 33-year-old Root is 3,519 runs short of breaking Tendulkar's record with 12,402 runs.

Pakistan announced their 15-member squad for the first Test against England, scheduled to be played in Multan from October 7. The squad includes 37-year-old spinner Noman Ali, replacing the injured pacer Khurram Shahzad.

Players Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Ali, who participated in the Bangladesh Tests, are not included for the first Test against England but remain in future plans. Pakistan lost the Bangladesh series 2-0 at home.

Head coach Jason Gillespie explained the decision, stating, "With a busy domestic and international cricket schedule, it makes sense to give our players some much-needed rest ahead of the Test series against England."

The Indian women's cricket team has left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to compete in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, which starts on October 3.

This year, the performance of India's women's cricket team has fluctuated. They suffered series losses against Australia and England, but managed a series victory over Bangladesh. In July, they tied their T20 International series with South Africa. India reached the final of the Asia Cup 2024 but lost to Sri Lanka, who remained unbeaten during the tournament.

In the previous T20 World Cup held in 2022, India got to the semi-finals but were defeated by Australia by five runs. Australia went on to win the tournament, claiming their sixth title by beating South Africa by 19 runs.

Star Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been added to Delhi's probables list for the Ranji Trophy, which will take place as part of the domestic cricket season in 2024-25.

Commencing on October 11 is the premier domestic red-ball event in Indian cricket, which has given rise to various Indian star cricketers such as Virat and Pant. On the same day, Delhi and Chhattisgarh will play their Elite Plate Group D encounter.

Virat Kohli hasn't had the ideal beginning to India's crucial 10-Test run in the next four months, failing in the two innings of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. It has once again ignited the debate if the batting legend is past his prime, with former Australia spinner Brad Hogg sticking his neck out to say that Kohli can't get past Sachin Tendulkar's record.

In a YouTube video, Hogg compared Tendulkar's tally of Test runs to Kohli and star England batsman Joe Root, saying that only Root is in with a fair shout to break the world record of 15,921 runs that Tendulkar scored in his 200-Test career.

Kohli, he reckoned, has lost momentum.

England Test captain Ben Stokes stated that there have been no discussions regarding his returning to the limited overs squads, but he would be open to returning to the white-ball setup under new coach Brendon McCullum if asked.

Following Matthew Mott's departure as limited-overs coach in July, McCullum was named head coach of all formats after two years of having different coaches for the white and red-ball teams.

When England tour India in January, the New Zealander will be in command of the limited-overs teams.

Whenever India competes in any international match, there's always excitement and enthusiasm among players and fans. Cricketers put their bodies on the line to save every run or take an extra single. Whether it’s facing a yorker delivery above 140 km/h or pulling a short ball in front of their eyes, cricketers tend to give their best for their country when wearing their national colours.

Since Virat Kohli took on the role of captaincy, he introduced a new culture in the Test team. The team no longer wanted to play for a draw; the focus was always on winning the match. This mindset was strongly supported by Ravi Shastri, the head coach at the time. However, in one particular match, this approach was not seen in a moment when MS Dhoni scored his 10,000th ODI run.

It was the second ODI match of India tour of England in 2018. England batted first, Joe Root scored a century and led the team total to 322/7.

After enjoying a small break following the first Test against Bangladesh, Delhi boys Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant were on their way to Kanpur for the second Test and were spotted travelling together-- on board a buggy to their boarding gate at the airport.

Head coach Gambhir and his two star players were the obvious centre of attraction as the buggy carrying its high-profile passengers moved through the airport premises.

The reaction of the fans to the video flooded in, making it go viral on the internet. While one fan said, "teeno bhai tabhi," another reacted, "Bromance overloaded."

The talented & versatile batter has some sublime hundreds to his name but has not been as prolific as would have been expected, in spite of being backed by successive captain-coach combinations. If he regains his confidence, Rahul could be an asset Down Under.

Who is the only Indian opener to score Test hundreds in England, South Africa, and Australia? KL Rahul.

Who is the only visiting batter to score two Test hundreds at Supersport Park, Centurion, often considered a graveyard for non-South African batters? KL Rahul.

Pakistan's next assignment is the Test series at home against England, but as per claims made by country's former batsman Basit Ali, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is working overtime to ensure the team does well in ICC Champions Trophy that the country is set to host in February-March next year.

Talking about a meeting before the one that was held to pick the squad for the first Test against England, Basit made serious claims, alleging that white-ball coach and former South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten is now part of the politics in Pakistan cricket.

"Pehle dosti yaari group ka jo head tha ab woh change ho gaya hai. Babar (Azam) ne step down kar diya hai group se. Ab uss group ko sambhala hai white-ball ke head coach Gary Kirsten sahab ne," Basit said in his latest video on YouTube.

The Indian team started assembling in Kanpur on Tuesday for the second Test against Bangladesh, after taking an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series with a dominating win in Chennai.

In a video floating on social media, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant could be seen being welcomed at the team hotel, which involved an 'oops' moment for the staff while welcoming the former.

Like it is usually seen, a group of people, presumably the top officials of the hotel, had assembled to welcome the players. Just when one of them presented a bouquet of flowers to Kohli and the batting legend accepted it with a 'thank you', another official...

In a thrilling encounter at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, England' captain Harry Brook led his team to a 46-run victory against the world champions Australia, keeping their hopes alive in the five-match ODI series.

Despite a shaky start, losing openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett to Mitchell Starc's bowling, England fought back through a remarkable 156-run partnership between Will Jacks (84) and Brook (110 not out) in a rain-hit chase after Australia put up an impressive 304 for 7 on the board.

Rain interrupted play with England at 254 for 4 off 37.4 overs, but they were comfortably ahead of the required target under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, securing the victory and ending Australia's 14-match winning streak in ODIs.

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