Smriti Mandhana sets two records: 100 sixes and top run-scorer in T20I

The Indian team defeated Afghanistan in the first match of the three-match T20 series, winning by seven wickets. After a confident start, the Indian squad aims to win the second game to gain an advantage in the series.

Young 15-year-old batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who impressed with his powerful batting during the visit to Zimbabwe, did not get a chance to play in the first match against Afghanistan. Before the game, there were active discussions among fans regarding Vaibhav Suryavanshi's participation.

Despite India's comfortable seven-wicket victory, the decision not to include Vaibhav in the starting lineup sparked controversy. Former Indian selector and experienced player Krishnamachari Shrikant sharply criticized this decision by the team management.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Shrikant noted that it was completely unclear why the player, who was the best in the previous match of the series, was suddenly excluded. He joked that when Vaibhav Suryavanshi didn't play yesterday, they started watching movies instead of the match on TV. His wife also expressed dissatisfaction, questioning why the star from the previous match was absent from the team today. He added that if such an ordinary viewer asks this question, one should consider what the player himself is going through.

Shrikant believes that constantly including and excluding a young athlete undermines his confidence. He stated that the team is treating Vaibhav incorrectly. Now, when he steps onto the field for the next match, he will have the fear of being excluded again if he does not score runs.

Shrikant emphasized that this young batsman, who has proven his worth in domestic cricket, India-A, IPL, and international T20, should be given consistent opportunities. Furthermore, he expressed regret over the treatment of Sanju Samson. He noted that Samson is sometimes included in the team and sometimes suddenly excluded, which does not contribute to the stability of any player.

It turned out that Vaibhav Suryavanshi participated in the final match of the Theleef Trophy, a red-ball tournament, just two days before the series against Afghanistan. Because of this, he had fewer opportunities to train with white balls (T20). In the first match, Sanju Samson played in place of him in the opening batting alongside Abhishek Sharma. Although Samson was dismissed after scoring 10 runs, the Indian team achieved the target of 157 runs in just 13.4 overs.

In the 'Sher-e-Punjab 2026' T20 League, batsman Probsimaran Singh demonstrated explosive play. In the semi-final match against Ludhiana Lions, he played as captain of the Jalandhar Warriors team. In this game, Probsimaran scored 63 runs off 35 balls, including five fours and four sixes.

Nevertheless, this powerful performance was not enough to help Jalandhar Warriors defeat Ludhiana Lions. In the match held at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in Mohali, Ludhiana Lions won by a margin of 17 runs.

Ludhiana Lions, having lost the coin toss, started the game with an attack, scoring 220 runs for the loss of five wickets. Salil Arora was a key figure, scoring 120 runs off 56 balls, which included 10 sixes and 7 fours. Madhav Singh Patania also contributed, scoring 42 runs without getting out from 22 balls.

In response, Jalandhar Warriors could only score 203 runs for the loss of eight wickets, despite Probsimaran's brilliant performance. Sahil Bhaskar, playing for Ludhiana Lions, took 6 wickets, conceding only 16 runs.

Although Jalandhar Warriors failed to reach the tournament final, captain Probsimaran Singh won the hearts of the fans due to his performance. In nine matches played in the tournament, he scored a total of 575 runs, including two centuries and three half-centuries. His average was 82.14. The most outstanding feature was the speed of his scoring, which reached 201.05.

Probsimaran constantly put pressure on the bowlers. Throughout the tournament, he hit 57 fours and 34 sixes, totaling 432 runs over the boundary. His aggressive style is confirmed by the fact that while scoring 575 runs, his average exceeded 200. Maintaining an average above 82 with such a high scoring rate in T20 cricket makes his performance particularly significant.

This success of 26-year-old Probsimaran occurred at a time when many young batsmen are trying to make a name for themselves in Indian domestic cricket. Probsimaran's statistics in the T20 League are undoubtedly among the most influential batting performances of this tournament.

Probsimaran Singh was selected for the Indian team for the tour in Zimbabwe this year, but he remained on the bench in all three matches. Previously, he was also part of the Indian team at the Asian Games in Hangzhou but did not get a chance to play in any match. As of now, Probsimaran has not debuted in international cricket for India.

Despite this, he continues to show consistently good results in batting. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Probsimaran Singh has also played crucial matches for Punjab Kings (PBKS) on several occasions. Now it remains to be seen whether the selectors will give him a chance to take the field.

The renowned English batsman Joe Root is demonstrating impressive form in Test matches. During the match against Pakistan, held at Edgbaston on Saturday, he achieved a feat that astonished cricket fans.

Root surpassed the 13-year world record set by the great Indian player Sachin Tendulkar. Joe Root has now entered history as the player with the most half-centuries in Test match history.

In pursuit of the target of 130 runs against Pakistan, Root played a powerful innings, scoring 62 not out off just 69 balls. Thanks to this performance, his total number of half-centuries in Tests reached 69.

Thus, Joe Root overtook Sachin Tendulkar, who previously had 68 half-centuries. In this list, Shivnarayan Chandrashekar (66) is in third place, while Rahul Dravid and Ellen Border both have 63 half-centuries.

Furthermore, during this innings, Joe Root reached the milestone of 1000 Test runs scored at Edgbaston. This makes him the fourth player in the world to score over a thousand runs across four different stadiums. Before him, only Jack Kallis (South Africa) and Ricky Ponting (Australia) had achieved this feat at four different venues.

In the match, England secured a convincing victory over Pakistan by 8 wickets, concluding a three-match series with a score of 3-0. Pakistan, after being defeated by a narrow margin in the first half of the match (133 runs), managed to fight back in the second half, scoring 449 runs thanks to performances by Shan Masood (95), Babar Azam (76), and Rajaulah (81).

However, England was able to easily secure the victory as they had already scored an impressive 453 runs in the first half of the match, giving them an easy target of 130 runs. The victory was achieved with minimal losses, as Joe Root (62*) and Jordan Cox (59*) remained not out.