The teams from group 2 in the T20 World Cup have only played two matches each, but with upsets and rain in the air, there is plenty at stake in each of the remaining matches. Here is a look at how the teams stack up in the race for the two semi-final spots. PakistanPlayed: 2,
Big Picture Last-ball defeats in consecutive matches. Points column empty. Best two batters quiet. Players failing to hold their nerve in make-or-break moments. Pakistan have ticked all those boxes and, as a consequence, find themselves in a precarious position where their fate in this World Cup is not entirely in their hands anymore. What’s still
New Zealand 167 for 7 (Phillips 104, Rajitha 2-23) beat Sri Lanka 102 (Shanaka 35, Boult 4-13) by 65 runs Sri Lanka had New Zealand 15 for 3 in the powerplay. But then they dropped Glenn Phillips, and it was all new Zealand from there. Phillips bashed 104 off 64 deliveries to almost single-handedly carry
Big picture Week one of the T20 World Cup is done and the pace has been set. India have taken the early lead, despite logistical challenges (cold avocado sandwiches, anyone?) with South Africa and Zimbabwe in the chasing pack. Sunday will be telling for Group 2, with all six teams in action and a top-of-the-table
New Zealand’s 65-run win against Sri Lanka puts them on top of group 1, but plenty can change in the six remaining matches in the group. Here is a look at how the teams stack up in the race to the two semi-final slots. New ZealandPlayed: 3, Points: 5, NRR: 3.850, Rem matches: vs Eng,
Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine is cautiously optimistic about his side’s chances against their most frequent rivals Bangladesh. The two teams will be playing each other in the T20 World Cup for the first time, and interestingly, it’s Zimbabwe who for a change will enter as slight favourites, eyeing a place in the last four. Bangladesh
Big picture Fatigue-wise, New Zealand have had a kind start to the tournament. They thrashed Australia in Sydney, then took the short flight to Melbourne, where their match against Afghanistan was rained out without a ball being bowled. They’d have preferred to play that match, of course, but they’ve not had to contend with crazy
West Indies’ white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran has vowed to use the hurt of his team’s first-round exit at the T20 World Cup as “motivation” to bounce back strongly. After suffering defeats against Scotland and then Ireland, West Indies failed to make the T20 World Cup proper for the first time. “Obviously, we don’t know what
Harbhajan said that the performance showed the gap between India and other teams.© Instagram India had a near-perfect game against Netherlands at the T20 World Cup on Thursday as the Rohit Sharma-led side won by 56 runs. Though Netherlands initially looked like putting up a fight with the ball, it fizzled out at the halfway
Australia vs England – match abandoned Australia and England took a point each from their Group 1 match at the T20 World Cup after a wet, unsafe outfield led to their match being abandoned at the MCG. Both teams now have three points, after a win and a loss apiece in their opening two games.
Daryl Mitchell admitted having a moment when he feared the worst about his T20 World Cup prospects after fracturing his finger just weeks before the tournament, but he is confident ahead of his return to New Zealand’s middle order against Sri Lanka at the SCG. Mitchell suffered the blow while batting in the nets before
India batter Shubman Gill is open to batting in the middle order in limited-overs format and emphasised the importance of reducing dot balls in T20 cricket by relying more on rotating strike against spin. While Gill has been a regular in India’s Test setup, he is yet to make his T20I debut and is on
Jos Buttler backed the decision to call Australia’s clash against England off without a ball being bowled, saying conditions weren’t “fit to play”, and that “every bowler who bowled” would have had concerns over the playing surface. “They [the umpires] had some big concerns and, I think, rightly so,” Buttler said, after a series of
Will Pucovski has taken an indefinite leave of absence from cricket for personal reasons that are unrelated to his repeated concussion troubles over the years. Pucovski played in Victoria’s first two Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield games of the new season earlier this month, but he did not play in the last two Marsh Cup
Zimbabwe 130 for 8 (Williams 31, Wasim 4-24, Shadab 3-23) beat Pakistan 129 for 8 (Masood 44, Raza 3-25, Evans 2-25) by one run Zimbabwe promised to cause as much damage as they could in the Super 12s and, two games in, they have inflicted a major blow. They defended 130 to deny Pakistan their
Pakistan captain Babar Azam conceded his team was “not up to the mark”, but backed the selection gamble to field a bowling heavy line-up after their T20 World Cup semi-final prospects nosedived with a one-run defeat to Zimbabwe at Optus Stadium in Perth. Just four days after a harrowing last-ball defeat to India at a
India’s centrally-contracted women cricketers are set to earn the same match fees as their male counterparts for appearances in international matches, according to BCCI secretary Jay Shah, in accordance with the board’s new pay equity policy. Under this policy, the women – like the men – will earn INR 15 lakh for a Test, 6
Cyclone Sitrang wreaked havoc as it travelled along the southern tip of Bangladesh, leaving most of the country, and the National Cricket League, rain-soaked. Three out of the four matches were drawn after the first two days, October 24 and 25, were rained off, with only Barishal Divisionbeating Dhaka Metropolis by four wickets in mostly
Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe by one run.© AFP The Babar Azam-led Pakistan suffered a stunning meltdown on Thursday to go down by one run to Zimbabwe in their second Group 2 game in Perth. This loss came after Pakistan had lost their first game against India. The defeat against Zimbabwe will hurt Pakistan as they
Australia are negotiating a second Covid-positive case in three days with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade testing positive just 24 hours out from their vital clash with England at the MCG on Friday. Wade did not train at Australia’s optional indoor session at the Junction Oval on Thursday afternoon after testing positive. It follows hot on the
Hashan Tillakaratne, the former Sri Lanka captain, has been appointed as the national women’s team head coach for the next two years by the BCB. He will join the set-up in November, with the side starting their build-up for next February’s T20 World Cup in South Africa around that time. “We have spent a long
It has been a remarkable return to international cricket for Rilee Rossouw. After six years away, during which he took up a Kolpak deal in county cricket that did not go down well with CSA, he has now compiled back-to-back T20I centuries, alongside an unbeaten 96, in just seven innings. His numbers for the year
India 179 for 2 (Kohli 62*, Rohit 53, Suryakumar 51*) beat Netherlands 123 for 9 (Bhuvneshwar 2-9, Axar 2-18) by 56 runs Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav gave India a strong finish at the SCG•Getty Images Fifties of vastly different moods and tempos from Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav laid the platform for
To the winner, the prospect of a tournament lifeline, a chance to keep a route to the semi-finals in their own hands. To the loser, the mounting prospect of an early elimination: an ignominious fate for the holders of each of the ICC’s two World Cup trophies. Even allowing for the threat of further rain-related
Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh’s batting coach, has implored the team to be “smarter” after their 104-run defeat to South Africa, and warned that they won’t be able to compete with the more powerful sides if they just try to copy their six-hitting. There was a brief flurry at the start of their steep chase at the
Ireland 157 (Balbirnie 62, Wood 3-34, Livingstone 3-17) beat England 105 for 5 in 14.3 overs (Malan 35, Little 2-16) by five runs on DLS method Ireland dominated the powerplay with bat and ball either side of a collapse of 7 for 25 to take down England at the MCG, adding another glorious chapter in
Toss South Africa chose to bat vs Bangladesh South Africa captain Temba Bavuma decided to bat first after winning the toss against Bangladesh at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. The hour leading up to the toss was wet, and there’s more rain forecast around the venue during this match. South Africa predictably dropped a
The trio has been called up should the need arise for them to replace players in their main squad. Tim McCaskill, head of Sri Lanka Cricket’s high-performance center, will also travel to Australia with the players. The decision comes a day after left-arm seamer Binura Fernando, who himself came into the squad as a replacement
After such a harrowing defeat, amid such a surreal spectacle at a heaving MCG magnified by the entire cricket world watching, Pakistan captain Babar Azam had the difficult task of addressing his crestfallen players in the dressing room. Some players were slumped, others had their hands on their heads, trying to rationalise the absurdity of
The result means New Zealand, who opened with a NRR-boosting win over Australia, continue to top Group 1 with three points in two games. Afghanistan’ chances of making the semi-finals, however, have received a big blow as they remain at the bottom with one point in two matches. All the other sides in the pool