Big Bash League 2020

Sydney Sixers won the 2019-20 Big Bash League title with a 19-run victory over Melbourne Stars in a rain-shortened final at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match was reduced to 12 overs per side and started one hour 10 minutes late after persistent rain on Saturday.

Sixers opener Josh Philippe hit a superb 52 off 29 balls to help his side post 116-5. The Stars struggled in reply, losing key men Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell early as they made only 97-6. It is the Sixers' first title since winning the inaugural Twenty20 competition in 2011-12, while the Stars have now lost all three of their Big Bash finals.

England's James Vince struggled as he chipped to mid-on for two before Philippe and Australia batsman Steve Smith started to find the boundary. Once Smith holed out for 21, Stars’ spinners Adam Zampa and Maxwell reduced the hosts to 68-4, but a vital stand of 48 between Jordan Silk (27 not out) and Philippe, who hit three sixes, led the Sixers to what seemed to be a par total.

Stars opener Stoinis set the record for the most runs in a single edition of the Big Bash this year (705) and he started ominously with a four and six off Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon in the first over of the reply. But Stoinis picked out deep square leg off his fourth ball, before fellow opener Nic Maddinson tamely lofted the superb Josh Hazlewood to Vince for a duck and Maxwell was trapped lbw by Steve O'Keefe for just five.

The reeling Stars fell into complete disarray at 25-4 when Peter Handscomb was carelessly run out by Smith attempting a second run that was never on. Despite some defiant late hitting by Nick Larkin (38 not out) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (19 not out), the visitors never threatened the target. The Sixers would have been awarded the title had the match been abandoned after winning the right to host the final by beating the Stars, who had topped the group stage, in the earlier qualifier round.

Big Bash League 2019

Melbourne Renegades snatched their first ever Big Bash League title from the Melbourne stars by forcing an extraordinary collapse from their crosstown rivals, after Ben Dunk and Marcus Stoinis had appeared to have taken their side to the outskirts of victory.

Needing 53 from 43 balls with all 10 wickets in hand, the Stars lost a shuddering 7 for 39 from those remaining deliveries, turning a momentarily moribund spectacle into that familiar but always entertaining scenario, the rush of late wickets in the face of a mounting required run rate. Having previously monstered a pair of chases against the Renegades, the Stars fell in a heap, unable to be pulled out of their dive by the captain Glenn Maxwell.

Credit was due to the doughty bowling of Cameron Boyce, Harry Gurney, Chris Tremain, and Daniel Christian, as they aptly exploited the vagaries of a slow surface to prevent the Stars from scoring any boundaries between the end of the 12th over and midway through the last. Christian and Tom Cooper had earlier shrugged off the loss of early wickets after the Renegades were sent in to bat by Maxwell, forging a vital stand to mount a defendable total in the face of excellent work by the Stars spin bowlers in particular.

Given two qualifying matches that both followed remarkably similar scripts - Stars bowling first, Renegades being restricted, Stars powering to a successful chase - it was not surprising to see the visiting captain Maxwell choose to attempt a similar path. He was to be well served by his bowlers seeking out well-defined weaknesses in the Renegades' top order: Marcus Harris coaxed into a pull shot he seldom controls, Sam Harper deprived of room to free his arms, and Cameron White pinned on the crease by Zampa's skidding leg spin.

Comilla Victorians won BPL 2019

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal came up with one of the most eye-catching T20 innings in the Final of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2019. Tamim heroics with the bat in Dhaka helped Comilla Victorians beat three time champions Dhaka Dynamites by 17 runs and win their second title.

Tamim had been struggling for form in the lead up to the final but he stepped up on the big night and broke an array of records as he took the Dhaka Dynamites attack to the cleaners. Tamim hit an unbeaten 141 from just 61 balls, his first century in the BPL that had 11 sixes and 10 boundaries. Tamim 141 was the second highest score in a T20 tournament final and it helped the Imrul Kayes-led Comilla Victorians post 199. He also became the first Bangladesh batsman to hit more than 10 sixes in a T20 match.

Even as his much-fancied teammates were struggling to put bat to ball on a tricky Mirpur wicket, Tamim was hitting the big ones at will. Tamim showed little respect to the likes of Andre Russel, Shakib Al Hasan and Rubel Hossain as he scored heavily against the big boys of Dhaka Dynamites. Dhaka Dynamites looked like they would render Tamim special knock in vain when Upul Tharanga and Rony Talukdar took on the Victorians' bowling attack after Sunil Narine was run out in the very first ball of their 200-run chase.

Tharanga and Talukdar stitched a 102-run stand in just 8.4 overs before Thisara Perera got the wicket of his Sri Lankan teammate with a slower ball. Once the big partnership was broken, the Dynamites imploded as the likes of Shakib, Andre Russel, and Kieron Pollard were dismissed cheaply. Talukdar looked to keep the Dynamites in the hunt but he was run out (for 66 off 38 balls) after a mix-up with Pollard in the middle.

The Dynamites felt the pressure of chasing a big total in the final as their seasoned campaigners, including the likes of Shakib, Pollard and Russell, were unable to get going. Wahab Riaz shone for the champions with figures of 3/28 while Mohammad Saifuddin and Thisara Perera picked up two wickets each. There were a couple of costly run outs that brought the downfall of the Dynamites.

Women Big Bash League: Brisbane Heat won maiden WBBL title

Australia wicketkeeper batswoman Bath Mooney skillful innings helped Brisbane Heat to clinch their maiden Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) title in Sydney. Bowling efforts of Delissa Kimmince (2/25) and Grace Harris (3/23) assisted the Heat to wrap up hosts Sixers for 131 for the loss of seven wickets.

Although Harris failed with the bat, opener Mooney powered to add 84 for the third wicket with her skipper Kirby Short in hot and testing conditions. Mooney brought up her fifty in just 35 deliveries, which included nine boundaries, before departing for 65, while short pitched in with 29.

No other Heat batswoman got to double figures, as they slipped from 98/2 to 126/7. With just four runs needed off five balls, Laura Harris walloped the ball to the boundary to seal a memorable three-wicket victory over two-time champions Sydney Sixers.

Ellyse Perry, on the other hand, was declared Player of the Tournament for amassing 744 at an average of 93 and scalping 10 wickets. Short heaped praises on Sixers skipper Perry for making it a great contest.

2016 Bangladesh Premier League

Dhaka Dynamites clinched the Bangladesh Premier League title in style, as they dismantled Rajshahi Kings to win by 56 runs in front of a full house in Mirpur. This is the third triumph for a Dhaka franchise in four BPLs, with the Gladiators having won in the 2012 and 2013 editions.

It was also sweet revenge for Dhaka who were beaten by Rajshahi in both their league games earlier in the tournament. Rajshahi, one of two new franchises this season, were left dejected after having made a late dash into the final by beating Chittagong Vikings and Khulna Titans in the playoffs.

While they would be proud of their overall campaign, their top order left the middle and lower order too much to do in the final, as they collapsed from 62-1 to 98-8, losing seven wickets for 36 runs as they tried to chase down 160. They were eventually bowled out for 103 in 17.4 overs. Rajshahi's chase was hence dependent on Samit Patel, James Franklin and Darren Sammy, but the big-hitting trio fell in three consecutive overs when it mattered the most.

Kumar Sangakkara won the Man of the Match Award and Mahmudullah won the Man of the Series Award. 

West Indies Women won Maiden WT20 title

Two sides that are known to play aggressive faced off in what promised to be a thrilling finale. Australia threw the early punches, West Indies then counter punched in the chase as the might of their explosive batting line-up resurfaced their maiden entry into the Women World T20 final ending in a blaze of glory at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

West Indies were run ragged in the first half as half-centuries from Elyse Villani and Meg Lanning helped Australia post an imposing 148 for 5. Enter Hayley Mathews and Stafanie Taylor and a daunting chase was clinically brought into the realms of possibility courtesy an opening stand of 120 in 15.4 overs. Once within striking distance, Taylor and Dottin brought all their experience to the fore by seeing off the highest successful chase in Women T20 history with three balls to spare.

Something about the last overs of their bowling stint, off which they conceded just one run, fired West Indies. Despite having the momentum with them, it was going to be a mountain to climb. For the first three overs of their chase, Australia had a lid on the runs, having conceded just eight. Then they relaxed, only to see Mathews unfurl boundary after boundary to leave Australia ducking for cover.

Halfway through the chase, Lanning called her team into a huddle in a bid to regroup. But that was to no avail. The wicket of Mathews, who miscued a pull off Kristen Beams to midwicket with West Indies 29 off 26 balls, came as relief, more than joy. That allowed Dottin, who had an off day with ball, a shot at redemption, which she gleefully accepted as West Indies celebrated a historic triumph in style.

Masters Champions League

Masters Champion League is a Twenty20 cricket League. The tournament was made up of six teams in the first year with a total of 90 players taking part – 15 members per squad. The MCL has received a 10 year approval from the Emirates Cricket Board, and inaugural season of the tournament took place over two weeks in Dubai and Sharjah.

Gemini Arabians won the inaugural edition of Masters Champions League by defeating Leo Lions in the final by 16 runs. Gemini Arabians remained unbeaten in their campaign and were rightly crowned champions of the inaugural edition. Leo, who lost 3 for 3 at the start and then 5 for 6 in the later half, didn’t stand a chance as Gemini Paceman were all over them with Rana Naved picking up a hat-trick, finishing with astonishing figures for 4 for 9.

This setting was tailor made for Lara to step up and lead from the front after a poor tournament so far, with a highest of 8. He, along with Hamish Marshall forged a stand for the fourth wicket to get the chase on course. This time, Lara seemed to have found his feet and brought up a 50 run stand with Marshall before he limped away, retiring hurt with a hamstring injury with 53 on the board.

Man of the match was awarded to Rana Naved and Man of the tournament was awarded to Kumar Sangakkara. Retired Sri Lankan scored 386 runs in with five half centuries in seven matches. Retired Sri Lankan Muralitharan took 15 wickets in six matches. 

Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy

Uttar Pradesh clinched their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with a thumping 38 run win over two time champions Baroda in the final played under lights at the Wankhede Stadium. Displaying all round display, UP pulled out all stops even overcoming the loss of the toss, to put it across the champions of 2011-12 and 2013-14 and win the summit clash in front of a crowd of 5000 spectators.

This was UP ninth straight win in the tournament, including five in the preliminary league phase and three more in the super league stage. UP built their innings around opener Prashant Gupta 49 in 41 balls and Captain Suresh Raina unbeaten 47 in 37 balls to post a challenging score of 163 for 7. In reply, Baroda lost half their side for 84 and then was stopped at 125 for 7 wickets.

Medium pacer Ankit Rajpoot picked up an early wicket in his opening spell and then came back to snap up two more to end up his figures of 3 for 30. Fellow medium pacer Amit Mishra grabbed 2 for 33. Yusuf Pathan, known for his big hitting prowess, flopped miserably once again by crawling to 14 off 27 balls. Captain Irfan Pathan came in at No 7 but by that stage the asking rate had climbed beyond 12 per over.

Sachin Tendulkar vs Shane Warne

One can take champions out of cricket but one cannot take cricket out of champions. This seems to be true in case of Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne who are all set to renew their rivalry in the Cricket All Stars series that starts in New York.

Right from Sydney in January 1992, when Warne made his Test debut in the third match of the series in which Tendulkar smashed an unbeaten 148, to the numerous T20 Matches in the Indian Premier League, the two greatest cricketers of the past two decades have fought enduring battles on the pitch which have become part of cricket folklore.

The draw for the teams was conducted at the Times Square garden in New York and 27 players were assigned randomly to Sachin Blasters and Warne Warriors. The two greatest batsman of their generation Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, were drawn on the same team. Australian big hitters like Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, and Andrew Symonds ended up with Warne. Sachin Blasters will also have swashbuckling Virender Sehwag, the wristy VVS Laxman, and the enigmatic Saurav Ganguly.

It will be surely be a sight for the eyes when these batsmen take guard against a bowling attack comprising Warne, Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald and Wasim Akram. Tendulkar bowling attack will have Muttiah Muralitharan and great pacers Curtly Ambrose, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock and Shoaib Akhtar. Apart from these legends Blasters will also have Mahela Jayawardene, Carl Hooper, Lance Klusener, Moin Khan, and Graeme Swann.

Michael Vaughan, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, Jonty Rhodes, Saqlain Mushtaq, Daniel Vettori and Ajit Agarkar complete the team of warriors. These ICC sanctioned matches will be played on drop in pitches at major baseball fields in New York, Houston, and Los Angeles.