Boult demolishes India, Australia name playing XI and more - Cricket News Today, 31st January 2019

Today was an action-packed day in the cricket world as India took on New Zealand and India 'A' squared off against England Lions. However, the Indians suffered fatal batting collapses in both matches and consequently suffered contrasting defeats.

In other news, Australia have named their playing eleven for the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. On the other hand, the visitors are reeling due to quite a few injuries and premier pacer Suranga Lakmal's stiff back has added to their woes.

In our popular Cricket News Today segment, let us take a look at all of today's top developments from the sport.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar terms Hamilton defeat as 'reality check'

Bhuvneshwar Kumar feels Virat Kohli's absence weakened India's batting lineup at Seddon Park

Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has termed the heavy defeat in the fourth ODI as a 'reality check'. Attributing India's poor batting performance to the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, the 28-year-old gave credit to the New Zealand pacers for their stellar show at Hamilton.

Speaking to reporters in the post-match press conference, Bhuvneshwar affirmed, "If you look at the cricket we have been playing in the last few months, we have played good cricket and such matches come after some time. So it is a kind of reality check what we can do and improve in the next matches."

He added, "See you always miss him (Kohli) in such kind of wickets but at the same time it was an opportunity for Shubman Gill who came in his place. What he (Kohli) has done is amazing but we always don’t want to depend on him."

Ben Duckett guides England Lions to consolation win against India A

Ben Duckett's unbeaten 70 shepherded England Lions to a thrilling victory

Battling hard in a bid to avoid a whitewash, England Lions relied on Ben Duckett's special knock to seal a nervy one-wicket triumph against India A at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, India A kept losing wickets on a regular basis and collapsed to 57/6. Lower-order contributions from Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar helped in lifting the total to 121. Jamie Overton was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps.

Chasing 122, England Lions began on a horror note as Deepak Chahar's new-ball spell reduced them to 43/4. Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar sparked a lower-order collapse to raise hopes of an India A victory.

However, Duckett remained form and scored an unbeaten 70 to script a consolation win for England Lions. India A had to remain content with a 4-1 series triumph.

Brief Scores: India A - 121 (Siddhesh Lad 36, Jamie Overton 3/24, Tom Bailey 2/23) lost to England Lions - 125/9 (Ben Duckett 70*, Deepak Chahar 3/25, Rahul Chahar 3/43) by one wicket.

Australia name unchanged XI for Canberra Test; Sri Lanka sweat on Lakmal's fitness

Tim Paine will be aiming to win his maiden Test series as Australia captain

Australia have named an unchanged lineup for the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. They have decided to stick with the same eleven which had hammered the visitors by innings and 40 runs in the first Test at the Gabba.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka are sweating on the fitness of pace spearhead Suranga Lakmal. With injuries to pacers Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera denting their hopes, the team management will be hoping that Lakmal overcomes a stiff back and takes the field for the second Test which begins tomorrow.

Australia Playing XI: Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Kurtis Patterson, Tim Paine (c) (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson and Nathan Lyon

Boult special helps New Zealand demolish India in 4th ODI

Trent Boult's searing swing proved to be unplayable for the Indian batsmen

Trent Boult's magical spell propelled New Zealand to a much-needed triumph against the visiting Indian team at the Seddon Park. Under swing-friendly conditions in Hamilton, the left-arm seamer produced figures of 5/21 to raze India to a paltry total of 92.

Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, New Zealand struck early when Boult trapped Shikhar Dhawan in front. Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma soon followed his opener back to the pavilion and it became a procession thereafter.

Colin de Grandhomme removed Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik for ducks. Debutant Shubman Gill lobbed a return catch to Boult to leave India at 33/5. The left-arm pacer struck Kedar Jadhav plumb in front before bouncing out Hardik Pandya and obtaining his five-wicket haul.

Chasing 93, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson to the wiles of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, Henry Nicholls and Ross Taylor remained unbeaten to seal a clinical 8-wicket triumph for the Blackcaps.

India lead the series 3-1 and the final ODI will be played at Wellington on Sunday.

Brief Scores: India - 92 all out in 30.5 overs (Yuzvendra Chahal 18*, Trent Boult 5/21, Colin de Grandhomme 3/26) lost to New Zealand - 93/2 in 14.4 overs (Ross Taylor 37*, Henry Nicholls 30*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/25) by eight wickets.