Let us look at some of the most-discussed cricket stories on the news on 24 June.
Multan Sultans lift maiden PSL title
Multan Sultans beat Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs in the final to lift their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Riding on Sohaib Maqsood’s 35-ball 65 and Rilee Rossouw’s 21-ball 50, Multan piled 206/4 after being asked to bat. Sameen Gul (2-26) and Mohammad Imran (2-47) took two wickets each.
In reply, Shoaib Malik’s 28-ball 48 went in vain as Peshawar finished at 159/9. Imran Tahir returned 3-33, while Imran Khan (4-1-27-2) and Blessing Muzarabani (4-0-26-2) claimed two wickets each.
Earlier, Peshawar’s key players Haider Ali and Umaid Asif had been suspended from the final after violating COVID-19 protocols.
England beat Sri Lanka in 2nd T20I, win series
England defeated Sri Lanka by wickets in a rain-interrupted 2nd T20I at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Having won the 1st encounter by eight wickets, the victory guaranteed Eoin Morgan’s men to seal the series.
After opting to bat, Sri Lanka batters crawled to a paltry 111/7. Kusal Mendis top-scored with run-a-ball 39 before felling to Mark Wood (2-18). The visitors only managed to hit four fours and two sixes in the entire innings.
In reply, England slumped to 36/4 in 6.3 overs. Liam Livingstone (29* off 26) and Sam Billings (24 off 29) steadied the ship, scoring 54 runs for the fifth wicket before rain came into play.
The revised target was 103 off 18 overs. Sam Curran (16* off 8) then smashed the winning run with a six over long off to chase the total down with 11 balls to spare.
Darren Stevens signs new one-year Kent deal
Darren Stevens, England’s oldest First-class cricketer, has signed a contract extension with his county club Kent. Stevens, 45 now, will play until the end of the 2022 season, at least.
Stevens hit 190 last month in a County Championship encounter against Glamorgan. During his 17-year domestic career, he has played over 600 games across all formats so far for Kent, aggregating more than 21,000 runs and claiming over 800 wickets.
Ishant suffers injury in WTC final, gets three stitches: Report
Ishant Sharma suffered an injury to his right hand in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand at the Rose Bowl and had to get three stitches, ANI reported. However, he is likely to be back in the five-match England Test series, starting 4 August at Trent Bridge.
Speaking to ANI, a source quoted saying: ‘Ishant hurt his bowling hand while stopping the ball and had to get three stitches. But he should be ready for the Tests against England which starts on August 4.’