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Reasons Why Pakistan Can Win The Second Test Against England

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(Yasir Shah celebrating Photo Courtesy: Twitter) Pakistan lost the first Test by three wickets after Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes staged a brilliant fightback in the fourth innings. Many former players raised concerns over Azhar Ali’s captaincy. The team faced a lot of criticism for letting England off the hook after dominating the majority of the Test match. But this Pakistan side has a lot of potential, and according to their head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, his team has the flair of making a comeback in the Test series. Misbah, in a column published on the Pakistan Cricket Board's website, wrote. "It is easy to curse yourself when you have lost.”  “But, we should remember that we were right on top until pretty much the last session of the game.” “We will do our best to come back in this series, which I really believe this team is capable of doing." So what makes Misbah remain adamant about this Pakistan side? Let us look at some of the reasons. 1)  In-form Top Order:  One of

Why is Vettel Looking Out of Sorts at Ferrari?

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(Sebastian Vettel Photo Courtesy: Twitter) Sebastian Vettel’s final season at Ferrari is going from one disappointment to another. The four-time world champion has struggled throughout the season so far. He has managed to score only 10 points from five races and sits 13th in the Drivers' Championship. In the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, the strategy that Ferrari opted for Vettel made no sense at all. After starting the race on hard tyres, He could have easily stayed out there for a significant amount of laps. It would have helped him stay out of traffic and gain positions to get among points. But the team called him for an early pit stop against Vettel’s will. By doing this, Ferrari shot themselves on their foot with Vettel finishing at P12. Vettel’s outburst during the race was heard on the radio, letting the team know of its costly mistake. Vettel also did not do any good for him with a lap one spin, but Ferrari’s decision of that meaningless pit stop is what truly hurt him the m

Racing Point F1 Car Deemed Illegal: Here’s All You Need to Know

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(Racing Point and Mercedes F1 Cars Photo Courtesy: Twitter) Breaking news in the world of Formula One. Renault's protest on the legality of the Racing Point's 2020 F1 car (RP20) has been upheld and Racing Point not only have 400 thousand Euro fine they have been ducked 15 points in the constructors' standings. So how did this happen? How have we got to this point? It all started at the beginning of the season around February and March when Racing Point revealed their F1 car for the 2020 season. A lot of people immediately pointed out that the car looked eerily similar to the last year’s Mercedes car. Hence the name Pink Mercedes or the Tracing Point has been circulating on social media throughout the season so far. Though a lot of teams were not convinced about the legality of the car, Racing Point admitted that their car was inspired by the 2019 Mercedes. They further added that they analysed photos and TV footage and manipulated their own design to make a car similar but

70th Anniversary Grand Prix Preview: The Heat is on at Silverstone

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(F1 gears up for the 70th Anniversary at Silverstone Photo Courtesy Twitter) Round 5 of the 2020 F1 season marks the 70th anniversary of Formula One racing. It all began here at Silverstone in 1950 and has held 1,022 races this then, spanning across 32 countries. Last weekend we witnessed some of the most extraordinary scenes on an F1 track. The British Grand Prix sprang into action three laps from the end. Lewis Hamilton limped his way to victory while his teammate at Mercedes Valterri Bottas was not as lucky. Charles Leclerc and Ferrari gained heavily from this and picked up their second podium of the season in a car which is struggling this season. Pirelli (F1 tyre supplier) will be the focal point of the race following a series of tyre failures. On investigating the tyre blowouts, Pirelli concluded that the failures were the result of “extremely long use” after early stops under a Safety Car triggered by Daniil Kvyat’s crash. It’s a venue that Mercedes have dominated, winning on se

5 Pakistan Players to Watch Out for

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(All eight Pakistan pacers in the 20-player squad Photo Courtesy: Twitter) After a couple of intra-squad warm-up games, Pakistan look all set for a three-match Test series against England, starting tomorrow. The hosts are yet to register a series win against Pakistan since 2010. The visitors, on the other hand, have won two of their last four Test series contested, while the other two ended in a draw. As we approach the first Test, we look at five key players worth keeping an eye on. 1)  Babar Azam:  (Babar Azam celebrating Photo Courtesy: Twitter) Babar Azam will be at the forefront of Pakistan’s batting. Given his recent form, Babar Azam was handed over the reins of the ODI and T20 squad. In 2019 he had a good stint with Somerset in T20 Blast where he was the highest run-scorer with 578 runs at an average of 52.54. His numbers in Tests are even better. Since he scored his maiden Test century, Babar Azam averages 73.42 with five Test hundreds. In his last seven Test innings, Babar has

Hamilton Hobbles to Win Record Seventh British GP

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(Lewis Hamilton's front left punctured Photo Courtesy: Twitter) A dramatic final few laps of the British Grand Prix saw race leader Lewis Hamilton hobble his way to the chequered flag to claim his seventh British Grand Prix. Undoubtedly, the most bizarre win of his career at Silverstone, after a puncture to his left-front tyre with half a lap still to go.  (Hamiton with his winning trophy at British Grand Prix  Photo Courtesy: Twitter) The Mercedes driver displayed yet another dominating performance in his home Grand Prix until his tyre burst just half a lap from victory. The Brit stretched his Formula One world championship lead to 30 points with his third win on the trot.  (Valtteri Bottas with a punctured tyre Photo Courtesy: Twitter) Mercedes were cruising in for yet another one-two finish up until Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas suffered a puncture of his own with just two laps to go, handing him a P11 finish. Even though Hamilton ended up winning the race, it was a disapp

500 Not Out: Stuart Broad is a Legend Now

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(Stuart Broad Celebrating his 500th Test Wicket Photo Courtesy: Twitter) For all the great things he has achieved, the name Stuart Broad is directly proportional to the iconic moment of Yuvraj Singh hitting him for six sixes in an over at the 2007 T20 World Cup. But on a dull final day of the third Test in Manchester, Broad claimed an incredible milestone of his career. He picked up his 500th Test wicket, joining the league of legends. He is only the fourth pacer to reach the mark after Courtney Walsh, Glenn McGrath and his fellow teammate James Anderson. Just shows us how difficult it is for a fast bowler to take those many wickets. He is also the second quickest to reach the mark, 12 years and 226 days after making his Test debut against McGrath, who got there in 11 years and 251 days since his debut. Achieving this feat was not a cakewalk for Broad. He had his ups and downs. The son of a former England opening batsman, Stuart Broad broke into the international circuit at the age of

British Grand Prix 2020 Preview: Another Lewis Masterclass at Silverstone?

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(Mercedes F1 car W11 Photo Courtesy: Twitter) Formula One returns after a week-long break with the second triple-header of the season with back-to-back British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton will be a strong favourite to win, having claimed the record for most wins (6) at Silverstone. After a disastrous Austrian Grand Prix, the defending champion found his mojo with poles in the next two rounds. Valtteri Bottas, his Mercedes teammate and winner of 2020 season opener will be eager to get his title challenge on track. With two rounds at Silverstone, Mercedes is expected to dominate on a track suitable for W11. Bottas is currently five points behind Hamilton in the championship table. (Red Bull's RB 16 Photo Courtesy: Twitter) Red Bull may have the second quickest car on race-day, but in reality, after the first three races, they look lost. The car lacks outright pace compared to Mercedes. In the two races Max Verstappen finished, he has been in a league of his own. The two podiums finish

England vs West Indies 3rd Test: Story of the Match

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(Joe Root with the winning Trophy Photo Courtesy: Twitter) In the final day of the series, the West Indies batting collapsed like a house of cards. With a 269-run win, England retained the Wisden trophy. (Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler Photo Courtesy: Twitter) Day 1 of the Test belonged to England after the hosts recovered well from 122/4 before tea to finish the day at 258/4. Ollie Pope was the architect of England’s remarkable comeback. Pope scored a blazing 91* off 142 balls. Jos Buttler who played second fiddle to Pope scored an unbeaten 56. Both piled up a crucial 136-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Earlier in the day, West Indies won the toss and elected to field yet again. The decision seemed to be good for them when Kemar Roach trapped Dom Sibley (0) LBW in the first over of the Test. Captain Joe Root fell prey to Roston Chase's direct hit for 17 just before lunch. Ben Stokes playing as a specialist batsman at no. 4 was knocked over by a peach of a delivery by Roach for 2

Will the 2020 F1 Season be Williams’ Road to Redemption?

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(Williams car for 2019 season Pic Courtesy: Google) After a shaky season in 2018, Williams Racing went through the wringer last year. They finished in the bottom of constructor’s championship for two years straight. In 2019, they secured only a point in the entire season, their worst-ever campaign in F1 history. Also, the team has been facing a financial crisis due to pandemic pressure. To ensure the future of a team that is still one of the most successful in F1, they have open sale talks. (George Russell in his Williams car Pic Courtesy: Twitter) But the start of 2020 season brought some encouragement for them. George Russell has impressed in both rounds at the Red Bull Ring and recorded their first-ever Q2 appearance since 2018. Last weekend, he made it Q2 for the second time in a row, but this time he was joined by his teammate Nicholas Latifi. It was the first instance after Monza 2018 that Williams had both its cars in Q2. (Williams Racing team principal Claire Williams Pic Court

England vs West Indies 2nd Test Review: Stokes Stars as England Level Series

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(England team celebrating  Pic Courtesy: Google) England produced a stellar performance in the second Test to secure a victory by 113 runs and level the series 1-1.  (Jofra Archer Pic Courtesy: Google) West Indies came into the second Test with their tails up after a historic win in the first Test. The hosts, however, got a major setback just before the start of the Test. England were forced to make a change to their pace attack after fast bowler Jofra Archer was omitted for breaching the coronavirus protocols. (Dom Sibley celebrating Pic Courtesy: Google) For the second Test in a row, we had delayed start due to light rain. West Indies won the toss and elected to field first. With over an hour lost in the morning session, the match began with England openers opting a cautious approach. Roston Chase provided the first breakthrough at the stroke of the lunch, with England posting 29/1. Chase removed Zak Crawley for a golden duck as play resumed in the second session. Joe Root got a star