Cricket news round-up – December 12: India win series, Sri Lanka 202/5, Asghar appointed Afghanistan captain

India beat West Indies by 67 runs clinch the T20I series 2-1; Sri Lanka finished a hard-fought Day 1 at Rawalpindi on 202/5; Mayank Agarwal replaced the injured Shikhar Dhawan for the upcoming ODIs against West Indies; Afghanistan named Asghar Afghan as their captain across formats; and Graeme Smith was been named Director of South African cricket.

India win series 2-1

A 67-run win against West Indies at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, helped India clinch the T20I series 2-1. Asked to bat, India muscled their way to 240/3 thanks to Rohit Sharma (71 in 34 balls), KL Rahul (91 in 56), and Virat Kohli (70* in 29). They hit 16 sixes in all in what was the first instance of three batsmen reaching 70 in the same innings.

West Indies were reduced to 17/3 early in their chase before Shimron Hetmyer (41 in 24) and Kieron Pollard (68 in 39) added 74 in 38 balls. The chase ran out of steam thereafter, and West Indies finished on 169/8. Deepak Chahar returned 3.3-0-16-2 and Mohammed Shami 4-0-25-2.

Test cricket returns to Pakistan

Sri Lanka finished the first day of Test cricket on Pakistan soil after over a decade on 202/5. Batting first at Rawalpindi against Pakistan’s four-pronged pace attack, Dimuth Karunaratne (59) and Oshada Fernando (40) carried the opening stand into the second session, eventually adding 96.

However, the Pakistan fast bowlers hit back, taking out four quick wickets to reduce the tourists to 127/4. Angelo Mathews (31) and Dhananjaya de Silva (38*) then added 62 to take Sri Lanka to relative safety before bad light ruled out further cricket.

India rope in Mayank

Mayank Agarwal, India’s leading run-scorer in Test cricket this year, has replaced Shikhar Dhawan in India’s squad for the 3 ODIs against West Indies. Dhawan is yet to recover from a knee injury that he sustained during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match.

Mayank is yet to play a limited-overs match for India. However, he has a very impressive List A record (3,869 runs at 50.90, strike rate 102).

Afghanistan reappoint Asghar

Afghanistan have reappointed Asghar Afghan as their captain across all formats. This was the third time in six months that Afghanistan had a change of leader. Asghar has led Afghanistan in 2 Tests, 56 ODIs, and 46 T20Is till date.

Asghar, who was captain of Afghanistan for some time, had been replaced by Rahmat Shah (in Tests), Gulbadin Naib (ODIs), and Rashid Khan (T20Is) respectively just ahead of the World Cup. Following their disappointing World Cup campaign, Rashid was named captain across formats, with Asghar as his vice-captain.

New post for Graeme Smith

Cricket South Africa have named Graeme Smith their first ever Director of Cricket. Smith will hold the place for three months. “I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the role. There is a lot of work to be done in the next few weeks and months and my objective will always be to make a positive impact during my tenure,” Smith said in an interview with ESPNCricinfo.