Summary
  • India defeat Afghanistan by 47 runs
  • India elect to bat first against Afghanistan
  • Phil Salt blasts England to T20 World Cup Super Eight win over West Indies
  • Coach wary as India face Afghanistan in T20 World Cup
  • South Africa edge past USA in high-scoring Super 8 thriller
  • Williamson steps down as New Zealand white-ball captain
  • Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Saqib fined for 'contact' with Nepal captain
  • ICC T20 World Cup teams, fixtures confirmed for Super 8 stage
  • Emotional Trent Boult calls T20 World Cup exit his 'last day' for New Zealand
  • West Indies thrash Afghanistan by 104 runs in final T20 World Cup group game
India defeat Afghanistan by 47 runs

June 20, 2024 11:13 PM

Suryakumar Yadav smashed a fine half-century before India's bowlers slammed the brakes on Afghanistan's flamboyant shot-makers to romp to a 47-run win in the T20 World Cup on Thursday.

Suryakumar's 53 was his 19th fifty in the format and helped India to post a challenging 181-8 in their second round Super Eights opener.

Experienced fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah then combined with spin trio Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja to strangle Afghanistan, seen by many as dark horses for the title, who were dismissed for 134 off the last ball.

India elect to bat first against Afghanistan

June 20, 2024 07:16 PM

India Thursday won the toss and elected to bat first against Afghanistan in their first Super Eight match of the Twenty20 World Cup in Bridgetown.

Both India and Afghanistan made one change to their squad from their last group stage matches. India opted for Kuldeep Yadav who replaced fast bowler Muhammad Siraj while Afghanistan replaced Karim Janat with Hazratullah Zazai.

Squads:

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan (capt), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh

Phil Salt blasts England to T20 World Cup Super Eight win over West Indies

June 20, 2024 10:26 AM

Phil Salt thrashed a brilliant 87 not out off just 47 balls as defending champions England romped to an eight-wicket victory over the West Indies in their T20 World Cup Super Eight clash on Wednesday.

Salt smashed seven fours and five sixes during a swashbuckling innings at the Daren Sammy National Stadium in St. Lucia while Jonny Bairstow hit an unbeaten 48 as England finished on 181-2 off 17.3 overs after earlier restricting the West Indies to 180-4.

Player of the Match Salt effectively sealed victory after cutting loose in the 16th over, hammering 30 runs off West Indies bowler Romario Shepherd with an exhibition of power-hitting that included three sixes and three fours.

The win marked an emphatic return to form for England, who laboured through the first round group phase and flirted with elimination at one stage.

"We're not looking too far ahead, just glad to contribute to the win," Salt said after his match-winning knock.

The England opener praised the contribution of Bairstow, who kept the runs flowing and took the pressure off Salt at the other end.

"There are a lot of different factors that can affect an innings," Salt said. "There was a period where I did not face a lot of balls, but important to stick around and carry on.

"Jonny was fantastic, and took pressure off me by taking calculated risks. I couldn't be happier as a team-mate."

England's other runs came from 25 from skipper Jos Buttler while Moeen Ali added a brisk 13.

 

Coach wary as India face Afghanistan in T20 World Cup

June 20, 2024 10:25 AM

India coach Rahul Dravid warned his side will "not take Afghanistan lightly" in their second-round opener of the T20 World Cup in Barbados on Thursday.

India were unbeaten in the initial pool phase as they advanced into a Super Eights featuring two groups of four.

Afghanistan, however, have also justified their billing as potential semi-finalists.

They had already qualified for the Super Eights before an emphatic 104-run defeat by a rampant West Indies in St Lucia on Monday in a clash of previously unbeaten teams, with Nicholas Pooran smashing 98 for the tournament co-hosts.

But Afghanistan did inflict an 84-run hammering upon New Zealand earlier in the competition.

And with India having needed two Super Overs to see off Afghanistan in a T20 match in Bengaluru in January, Dravid is well aware of the challenge awaiting his players at the Kensington Oval.

"We know Afghanistan is a very dangerous team in this format of the game," former India batsman Dravid, 51 told a pre-match press conference on Wednesday. "They have shown that by their performances in this World Cup.

"They might not have a lot of international experience in the other formats of the game, but a lot of their players do play in a lot of T20 leagues, more than in fact some of our players do.

"So, certainly in this format they are not a team to be taken lightly. They are deservedly in the Super Eights."

Much of Afghanistan's success has been built on superb spin bowling, with Rashid Khan -- who took four wickets for 17 runs against New Zealand in Guyana -- leading the way.

South Africa edge past USA in high-scoring Super 8 thriller

June 19, 2024 11:11 PM

South Africa defeated the United States by 18 runs in their T20 World Cup Super 8 match which was played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, on Wednesday.

The Proteas managed to defend the 195-run target with Kagiso Rabada starring for the winning side with his 3/18 spell in four overs.

After being asked to bat first, South Africa didn’t have the brightest start as Reeza Hendricks continued his bad form and returned to the pavilion after just scoring 11 runs, leaving his side 16-1 in 2.4 overs.

However, after losing one wicket, the Proteas recovered quickly as Quinton de Kock decided to take charge of their innings and played his best knock of the tournament by scoring 74 runs on 40 balls with the help of seven fours and five sixes.

The 110-run partnership between skipper Aiden Markram and De Kock helped the Proteas get in the driving seat.

Following the wicketkeeper batter’s dismissal, South Africa lost wickets in quick succession with David Miller (0), and Markram (46) returning to the pavilion.
Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs stayed till the end and helped South Africa conclude their innings at – in the allocated overs.

For the USA, Saurabh Netravalkar bagged two wickets for just 21 runs in four overs. Harmeet Singh also removed two Proteas batters for 24 runs.

Williamson steps down as New Zealand white-ball captain

June 19, 2024 12:44 PM

Kane Williamson has stepped down as captain of New Zealand's white-ball teams, the Black Caps said Wednesday, days after they crashed out in the group stage of the T20 World Cup.

Williamson has turned down a central contract for the 2024/25 season, relinquishing the captaincy of the Twenty20 and one-day teams. He will still however play international cricket.

It leaves the 33-year-old star batsman able to accept offers to play in lucrative overseas competitions.

"Pursuing an overseas opportunity during the New Zealand summer means I'm unable to accept a central contract offer," he said in a statement.

He can still play for New Zealand, with the Black Caps scheduled to play Test matches against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, India and England later this year.

Williamson said his decision to turn down a central contract and give up the limited-overs captaincy should not be interpreted as a sign he was losing interest in international cricket.

"Playing for New Zealand is something I treasure and my desire to give back to the team remains undiminished," he said.

Williamson had skippered New Zealand in all three formats until he gave up the Test captaincy to fast bowler Tim Southee in late 2022.

Since making his debut in 2010, Williamson has played 100 tests, 165 one-day internationals and 93 T20 games for New Zealand.

 

Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Saqib fined for 'contact' with Nepal captain

June 19, 2024 12:43 PM

Bangladesh's Tanzim Hasan Saqib has been fined 15 percent of his match fee after confronting Nepal captain Rohit Paudel during a World Cup game, the cricket council said Wednesday.

The incident occurred during their Group D match at the weekend in St. Vincent, when Bangladesh qualified for the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup with a 21-run victory.

Tanzim, after bowling a delivery at the end of the third over of Nepal's innings, walked towards Paudel in an aggressive manner and was deemed to have made "inappropriate physical contact", the International Cricket Council (ICC) said.

Fast bowler Tanzim admitted the offence and accepted the sanction.

Paudel had played down the incident.

"There's nothing between us, just he came and he told me to hit, and I said, 'go and bowl'," he said. "Nothing else."

Tanzim picked up 4-7 in a fierce opening spell to help Bangladesh claim victory.

 

ICC T20 World Cup teams, fixtures confirmed for Super 8 stage

June 18, 2024 03:59 PM

The groups and fixtures for the Super 8 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 have been confirmed with both co-hosts West Indies and USA making it through to the second stage that will see the eight teams battle for a place in the semi-finals at the biggest cricket carnival spectacle ever.

Super 8 qualifiers are- Group A: India and USA, Group B: Australia and England, Group C: West Indies and Afghanistan, Group D: South Africa and Bangladesh, said a press release.

The eight teams would be divided into two groups.

Group A

India, Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh

Group B

USA, England, West Indies, South Africa.

Four of the Super 8 qualifiers have won the World Cup previously, India, England, West Indies and Australia. Super 8 matches would be played across four West Indies venues: Antigua and Barbuda (four matches), Barbados (three matches), Saint Lucia (three matches) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (two matches).

Each team would play every other team in its group once, with the top two sides in each group qualifying for the semi-finals, to be played in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana on June 26 and 27, respectively.

The Super Eight stage commences in Antigua on Wednesday June 19 with a clash between USA and South Africa. That same evening West Indies take on old rivals, England in Saint Lucia. The two sides have a prolific cricketing history, with the co-hosts ensuring a dominant display at home against England in recent years.

Full Fixtures- June 19: USA v South Africa, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua; England v West Indies, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia.

June 20: Afghanistan v India, Kensington Oval, Barbados; Australia v Bangladesh, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua.

June 21: England v South Africa, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia; USA v West Indies, Kensington Oval, Barbados.

June 22: India v Bangladesh, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua; Afghanistan v Australia, Arnos Vale, St Vincent.

June 23: USA v England, Kensington Oval, Barbados; West Indies v South Africa, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua.

June 24: Australia v India, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia; Afghanistan v Bangladesh, Arnos Vale, St Vincent.

Emotional Trent Boult calls T20 World Cup exit his 'last day' for New Zealand

June 18, 2024 12:41 PM

Left-arm paceman Trent Boult said he had played his "last day" of international cricket after New Zealand's disappointing T20 World Cup campaign ended with a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea in Trinidad on Monday.

His 13-year stint in international cricket appeared to have ended in the downbeat setting of a 'dead' T20 World Cup game.

"It feels a little bit weird, a few emotions obviously the last couple of days," said Boult.

Pressed on whether the game represented his final New Zealand appearance, Boult added an element of doubt: "I haven't thought much further than this, I'm in no position to comment right now. I enjoyed being out there one last time."

Defeats by Afghanistan and tournament co-hosts the West Indies earlier in Group C had helped end the Black Caps' hopes of qualifying for the second-round Super Eights.

Papua New Guinea had also been eliminated before the match in front of a sparse crowd at the Brian Lara Stadium.

Boult took two wickets for 14 runs as PNG were skittled out for 78 in an innings where fellow quick Lockie Ferguson finished with a remarkable 3-0 from his maximum four overs but

"Gutted to not go any further, but I'm very proud of what I've done with the Black Caps and sad it's my last day with New Zealand," said Boult.

The 34-year-old has been infrequently selected for international duty since being released from his New Zealand central contract in August 2022, allowing him to play in more domestic T20 leagues abroad.

The swing bowler did feature in New Zealand's 50-over World Cup campaign last year, where they reached the semi-finals only to suffer a 70-run defeat by tournament hosts India at a packed Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

West Indies thrash Afghanistan by 104 runs in final T20 World Cup group game

June 18, 2024 12:40 PM

Nicholas Pooran was run out agonisingly short of a maiden T20 World Cup hundred as a rampant West Indies humbled Afghanistan by 104 runs in a clash of unbeaten teams on Monday.

With both sides already into the Super Eights, Pooran smashed 98 off 53 balls in the final group match at the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia to propel the hosts to 218-5 after being put in to bat.

A rattled Afghanistan never recovered from the loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over of the reply and were bundled out for 114 off 16.2 overs, seamer Obed McCoy marking his first match of the tournament with best figures of 3-14.

The next phase of the competition, the Super Eights, starts on Wednesday.

"When you get the good wickets you have to capitalise as batters. When it's your day you have to take it and make the most of it," said Pooran, who thumped six fours and eight sixes in a spectacular innings took him past 2,000 T20I runs.

Coming to the middle in the second over after the demise of Brandon King, Pooran and hometown hero Johnson Charles (43 off 27 balls) accelerated at supersonic speed in lifting the total to 92-1 by the sixth over.

It was the highest total ever in the Powerplay overs of a T20 World Cup since the first of the eight editions was played in South Africa in 2007.

That period of relentless carnage included 36 off an over from seamer Azmatullah Omarzai, whose wayward bowling in that fourth over of the innings reflected the confused state of the Afghan attack.

But it was Omarzai who ended Pooran's pursuit of the century in the final over of the innings, his direct hit to the striker's end from deep cover leaving the left-hander just short of his ground as he dived to the crease.

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