AZAM OUT OF ENGLAND TOUR

Pakistan were dealt a major blow after dependable middleorder batsman Babar Azam was ruled out of the rest of their two-match Test tour of England with a fractured left hand. Azam looked in ominous touch during the second day of the ongoing first Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s on Friday. He top-scored with 68 as the visitors built a 166-run lead, ending the day on a strong 350/8.However, the 23-year-old was forced to retire hurt after copping a blow on the arm from a nasty bouncer by Ben Stokes. He did not go for scans straightaway but did not take the field for the rest of the day.Scans later revealed a fracture that ruled Azam out of action for a minimum of four to six weeks.”We decided we were going to do a precautionary X-ray at the end of the day’s play,” Cliffe Deacon, the Pakistan team physiotherapist, said.

The 51-day long T20 carnival has finally reached its climax as two-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad will face-off in the summit clash of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede stadium here on Sunday.

While Chennai, the two-time IPL champions, already made to the final beating Hyderabad by two wickets in the Qualifier 1 of the cash-rich league here on Tuesday, Hyderabad had to go through the second qualifier.

The Kane Williamson-led side overcame Kolkata Knight Riders’ challenge by 14 runs at the Eden Gardens on Friday to seal a place in the coveted final.

Both the sides have met each other thrice in the ongoing edition of the league and the Super Kings hold a 3-0 record over their southern neighbours.

In the much awaited final on Sunday, which could also be seen as a southern derby, it will be clash between Hyderabad’s bowling and Chennai’s batting.

With the likes of Bhuvnesh- war Kumar, Rashid Khan and Siddarth Kaul, the orange army boasts of a superb bowling attack whereas the yellow brigade is full of star-studded batting lineup comprising Shane Watson, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina and others.

For Chennai, each of the batsman had rose to the occassion whenever their side needed.

The yellow brigade have been on a roll since making their comeback to the IPL fold after serving a two-year-ban, and have rarely lost the momentum this season with the old guards and new sensations firing in unison.

In their final league game at their adopted home ground in Pune on last Sunday, CSK rode on Suresh Raina’s gutsy half century to romp home by five wickets.

Later, in the Qualifier 1, a match where most of the Chennai batsmen faultered against Hyderabad, opener Faf du PLessies smashed a match-winning half-century to help Chennai reach their seventh IPL final on Tuesday.

Rayudu, the other opener in Chennai’s side, has been the