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While the Men in Blue will kick off their tour of Suth Africa on Sunday, the Women in Blue are hosting England Women in a three-match T20I series followed by a one-off Test. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will take on the Heather Knight's England in the second of the three-match T20I series at the Wankhede Stadium today. On the other hand, the Big Bash League 2023-24 is underway Down Under after the successful completion of the Women's Big Bash League. Additionally, the Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2023 and the Abu Dhabi T10 League has also reached its penultimate and will see a winner on Saturday, 9 December.
Here in this article, we’ll look at all the big news that took place on Friday, December 8, but before that, let's check the matches scheduled for the day.
Today’s match preview:
India Women vs England Women 2nd T20I: The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will take on Heather Knight's England Women at the Wankhede Stadium in the second T20I of the three-match series. The visitors took a lead in the series after clinching the first of the series by 38 runs. However, the hosts will look to comeback stronger and level the series and take it into the decider.
Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2023:
- Urbanrisers Hyderabad vs Manipal Tige rs: Suresh Raina-led Urbanrisers Hyderabad will take on Harbhajan Singh's Manipal Tigers in the grand finale of the LLC 2023 at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium in Surat at 6:30 p.m. IST. While the Tigers finished at the top of the points table in the league stage, they further had to defeat Gautam Gambhir-led India Capitals to set up the finale clash, however the Urbanrisers sealed the place after a 75-run win over the Tiger in Qualifier 1.
Big Bash League 2023-24:
- Adelaide Strikers vs Brisbane Heat: Adelaide Strikers are scheduled to square off against the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League 2023-24 on Saturday. The match is scheduled to take place at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide at 01:45 p.m. IST. While the Heat sit at the top of the points table with one win, the Strikers will play their first match.
Abu Dhabi T10 League 2023:
- New York Strikers vs Deccan Gladiators: In the grand finale of the Abu Dhabi T10 League 2023, Kieron Pollard's New York Strikers will take on Nicholas Pooran-led Deccan Gladiators at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi at 7:30 p.m. IST. While the Strikers beat Morrisville Samp Army in the Qualifier 1 to seal a place in the final, the Pooran-led side beat the Moeen Ali-led Samp Army by 28 runs to set up a clash against the Pollard-led ide for the ultimate glory.
Major cricket events that happened on December 8
Sydney Sixers beat Melbourne Renegades by six runs in their BBL 2023-24 opener
The Moises Henriques-led Sydney Sixers made a strong start to their Big Bash League 2023-24, registering a six-run win over Melbourne Renegades at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney. The Sixer successfully defend the total as they restricted the Nic Maddinson-led ide to 167/7 fin the 20 overs after putting 175 on the board. While Steven Smith did the part with the bat (61 off 42 balls), Ben Dwarshuis was the star with the ball, scalping three wickets in four overs.
Punjab Kings appoint Sanjay Bangar as Head of Cricket Development
IPL franchise Punjab Kings on Friday, 8 December announced Sanjay Bangar as their Head of Cricket Development. The former India all-rounder, who was with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2023 has now returned to his previous franchise with whom he had worked as Assistant Coach in 2014 before taking on as the Head Coach in 2015 and 2016.
Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill yet to join Team India in South Africa
While the first batch of Indian squad has already landed in Durban, vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja, Indian opener Shubman Gill and Deepak Chahar are yet to join the side in the rainbow nation. According to reports, while Jadeja and Gill will fly directly from Europe and the UK respectively ahead of the first T20I, Chahar will also join the side soon, however the timeline is yet unknown.
Maia Bouchier replaces Emma Lamb in England Women's Test squad
Emma Lamb has withdrawn from the England Women Test squad to play India due to a back problem. Lamb has returned home to the UK where she will see a spinal surgeon to determine the next steps. Maia Bouchier has been called up as a replacement to the Test squad while Kirstie Gordon has also been added to the squad.
Will conduct an internal investigation: Syed Kirmani on LLC fight between Gambhir and Sreesanth
After a heated altercation in the LLC 2023 Eliminator between Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth, the Head of Code of Conduct and Ethics Committee, Syed Kirmani has said that “an internal investigation” will be held and the misconduct will be dealt strictly. “Legends League Cricket strives to uphold the spirit of cricket and sportsmanship and will conduct an internal investigation on the violation of code of conduct,” he stated.
