Murali Vijay slams Indian selectors, India defeat Bangladesh in thriller to enter final, and more - Cricket News Today - October 4, 2018

The Indian cricket team began their Test series against West Indies today at Rajkot. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, KL Rahul was dismissed in the very first over. However, the debutant Prithvi Shaw took matters into his own hands as he smashed a scintillating century.

He put on a 206 run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara for the second wicket. At the end of the day, India maanged to score 364 runs for the loss of four wickets. Virat Kohli (72*) and Rishabh Pant (17*) are currently at the crease.

Apart from the India-Windies Test, there has not been too much happening around in the world of cricket.

So, let's take a look at the 5 trending news from today:

#1 Prithvi Shaw becomes youngest ever to score century on debut

Continuing to speak about the youngster from Mumbai, he broke numerous records en-route to his spectacular century against the Windies. He also holds the record for being the youngest Indian to score a fifty on Test debut as well.

With his knock of 134, he became the youngest ever batsman in the world to score a century on debut. He also holds the record for the youngest Indian to face the first ball. Overall, he is the fourth youngest after Hamilton Masakadza, Tamim Iqbal and Imran Farhat.

#2 Carl Hooper blames IPL for poor performance of Windes

Carl Hooper during his playing days

Former West Indies skipper, Carl Hooper, felt that one of the main reasons for the decline of Windies cricket was the lucrative Indian Premier League.

While speaking to PTI, he said that the main aim of a player from the country is to sign an IPL contract.

"We should have seen this coming (IPL impact on West Indies cricket). T20 cricket is here to stay. You got more leagues in play than what it was five years ago. It is crazy. It is going to affect us because for most young West Indies players, the ultimate aim is sign a contract with an IPL side," he said.

"So it would have a bearing on his availability for West Indies cricket including Tests,"

#3 Murali Vijay slams Indian selectors

Murali Vijay

A few days after Karun Nair lashed out at the Indian selectors, saying that there was no communication with them with regards to the team selection, Murali Vijay too felt the same.

The Indian opener, who was dropped after the third Test against England, was not included in the squad for the Tests against the Windies either.

Speaking to the Mumbai Mirror, Vijay seemed quite frustrated.

"Neither the chief selector nor any other person spoke to me in England after I was dropped from the third Test," Vijay told the Mumbai Mirror.

"None of them have spoken to me since. I did have a conversation with the members of the team management in England and that’s it.

"I tend to agree with what Harbhajan Singh has said about parameters of selection.

"I think it is important that a player is told about the reasons for keeping him out so that he knows where exactly he stands in the team managements' and selectors' scheme of things.

#4 Dale Steyn opens up about his all-round performance

Dale Steyn

Just yesterday, South African pacer Dale Steyn helped his side achieve victory against Zimbabwe. He was the unlikely hero with the bat, scoring his maiden international half-century.

In addition, he picked up two wickets as well, thus helping his side bowl Zimbabwe out for 78.

"Any time I bat it's quite difficult to be honest with you, and that wicket was quite tough," he told Sky Sports, citing his game time with Hampshire as key to his progress.

"But the opening bowlers bowled out quite a lot of overs and got through the spin so myself and Andile managed to build a partnership," he continued.

#5 India U-19 defeat Bangladesh U-19 in thriller to enter final

The Indian Under-19 side defeated the Bangladesh Under-19 by 2 runs side in dramatic fashion in the semifinals of the 2018 Asia Youth Cup.

Batting first, India managed to score just 172 runs in the first innings. In response, the Indian bowlers kept picking up wickets at regular intervals, however, the Bangladeshi batsmen had a lot of overs to achieve the target.

With just 3 runs required and with more than 3 overs remaining, Bangladesh's last batsman, Minhazur Rahman, was run-out, thus sealing an emphatic victory for the young Indian side.