Tag: ICC World Cup 2023

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur shares that he knows Sri Lanka’s “strengths and weaknesses” inside out having spent two years at the helm of his Asian rivals.

Former champions Pakistan and Sri Lanka will clash at the ICC World Cup 2023 in Hyderabad on Tuesday, allowing Arthur the opportunity to renew his acquaintance with players he helped develop as coach between December 2019 to November 2021.

“Yeah, I know their strengths and weaknesses so we will have plans put in place for all of them,” Mickey Arthur told AFP.

“They are a dangerous side so we will have to be at our best to beat them.”

Pakistan defeated the Netherlands in a nervy performance by 81 runs in Hyderabad on Friday to open their World Cup campaign.

They overcame a top-order failure, recovering from 38-3 before posting a challenging 286 with half-centuries from Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan.

They then bowled out the Netherlands for 205 in 41 overs.

“I enjoyed the first win even though it wasn’t a great performance,” admitted Arthur.

“But we did enough to win and when the game was on the line we had players standing up.”

Pakistan are likely to keep the same line-up for Tuesday’s match, handing a lifeline to out-of-form opener Fakhar Zaman who scored just 12 against the Netherlands.

“I am not worried about his form, he is a good player and is just one innings away from a big score,” said Mickey Arthur of the only Pakistan batsman to have made a double century in ODI cricket.

Undone by South Africa’s record-shattering 428-5 in their opening game at ICC World Cup 2023 on Saturday in New Delhi before losing by 102 runs, 1996 champions Sri Lanka will take confidence from their battling reply.

Sri Lanka will also be buoyed by their two-wicket win against Pakistan last month that propelled them to the Asia Cup final in Colombo.

Skipper Dasun Shanaka admitted his side has been hampered by the loss of three frontline bowlers.

Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga were ruled out of the tournament completely through injury while Maheesh Theekshana remains with the squad but sidelined with a hamstring injury.

“It was tough to manage things without three key bowlers, but that is part of the game,” said Shanaka after the South Africa match.

“I am happy with the positive intent we showed with the bat and the first ten overs with the ball were good too.”

Kusal Mendis hit a whirlwind 42-ball 76, with eight glorious sixes, while Charith Asalanka (79) and Shanaka (68) frustrated the South African attack before Sri Lanka were dismissed for 326 in 44.5 overs.

READ: Kane Williamson to stay on bench for Netherlands match

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will remain out of the side for their second match in ICC World Cup 2023 against the Netherlands on October 9.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead confirmed his absence from the game against Netherlands while giving an update about his recovery and status for future games.

“Kane’s also been progressing very well. I think the fielding is still the element for him that he’s just got to get a little bit higher and get a little more trust in his body,” said Stead.

He, however, hinted that Williamson is likely to achieve full fitness in time for New Zealand’s third game, which is against Bangladesh on October 13 in Chennai.

“But he is progressing really well and we are pretty confident he will be playing the third match for us,” he added. “We have got another training to get through today so we will finalise the team once we have got through that training.”

Kane Williamson tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee playing for Indian Premier League side Gujarat Titans in April, which looked to have scuppered his chances of making the showpiece tournament.

However, he made it to New Zealand’s squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 and participated in New Zealand’s warm-up games against Pakistan and South Africa, scoring 54 and 37 respectively.

He missed New Zealand’s thumping nine-wicket win over defending champions England in the opening game of the ICC World Cup 2023, courtesy of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra’s dominant centuries.

New Zealand pace duo Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson also missed the first game due to injuries, however, Gary Stead is hopeful that the pace duo is likely to recover for the game against Netherlands.

“Lockie Ferguson got through training really well so providing he is scrubbed up okay this morning, he will be available for this next game,” Stead said. “Tim Southee also got through the training really well. It was great to see him back at the bowling crease and also doing a little bit of fielding as well.”

“He will just get a final x-ray done this morning and we will make a call after that but it is all looking good for selection from now on and into the rest of the tournament,” he concluded.

READ: China top Asian Games 2023 with record 201 golds

DELHI: Australia have won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the fifth match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

PLAYING XIs

Australia

David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Watch ICC World Cup 2023 Live on ARY ZAP

India

Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Overall ODIs: Matches 149, India 56, Australia 83, NR 10

ODI World Cup: Matches 12, India 4, Australia 8

READ: La Liga: Jude Bellingham strikes twice as Real Madrid hammer Osasuna

DELHI: Right-handed middle-order batter Aiden Markram and South Africa smashed several records as they wreaked havoc with the bat against Sri Lanka in their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign opener on Saturday.

Aiden Markram scored the fastest World Cup century in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture against Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, India on Saturday.

The right-handed batter put on a blistering display and smashed the record in 49 balls.

He finished at a 54-ball 106 which featured 14 boundaries and three sixes.

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The previous record was held by former Ireland cricketer Kevin O’Brien. He scored his century in 50 balls against Ireland in the group stage fixture in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

South Africa went on to score the highest team total in a World Cup game as they scored 428/5 in their 50 overs as Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock, and Rassie van der Dussen baton-charged Sri Lankan bowlers.

The trio scored sublime centuries, the first such instance in a World Cup game that three batters from a team got to the triple-figures.

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Notably in ODIs, South Africa had imitated the feat twice – against West Indies in Johannesburg and India in Mumbai while England had three centurions when they scored a record 498 against the Netherlands in June 2022.

For the unversed, South Africa’s 428/5 against Sri Lanka was their eighth 400-plus total in ODIs — the most by any team — three of which came at the World Cup while the rest of the teams have two 400-plus scores in total.

Moreover, South Africa’s 428/5 was also the highest total scored against Sri Lanka, surpassing India’s 414 for 7 in 2009 in Rajkot.

READ: All-round Mehidy Hasan Miraz powers Bangladesh to victory over Afghanistan

DELHI: A combined bowling effort after a batting onslaught propelled South Africa to hand a 102-run thrashing to Sri Lanka in their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign opener on Saturday.

Chasing a daunting total of 429, Sri Lanka offered notable fightback as they scored 326 runs all out in response.

Wicketkeeper batter Kusal Mendis scripted Sri Lanka’s flying start to the pursuit despite an early blow in the form of Pathum Nissanka, who fell for a seven-ball duck.

Mendis knitted a one-sided 66-run partnership with Kusal Perera, who could contribute a mere seven before falling in the eighth over.

Mendis’ early fireworks were shortlived after Perera’s departure as he headed back to the pavilion in the 13th over after providing Sri Lanka with a perfect start with a blistering half-century.

He scored 76 in just 42 deliveries, laced with four boundaries and eight sixes.

Charith Asalanka then took the reigns of Sri Lanka’s run chase with a brisk knock and was also involved in a crucial 82-run partnership with captain Dasun Shanaka before finally perishing in the 32nd over.

He top-scored for the Asian side with a 65-ball 79, peppered with eight boundaries and four sixes.

Later, it was captain Shanaka, who kept hopes of pulling off a miraculous run chase alive with his sensational half-century but his efforts eventually turned out to be insufficient as Sri Lanka fell well short of it despite handy contributions from their tailenders.

Shanaka remained a notable run-getter for his side with 68. His 62-ball knock included six boundaries and three sixes.

Gerald Coetzee led the bowling attack for South Africa with 3/68 in his nine overs while Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen bagged two each.

Put into bat first, South Africa caused carnage at Arun Jaitley Stadium here as they racked up a mammoth 428/5 against Sri Lanka — the highest team total in a World Cup game.

The Proteas had a contrasting start to their innings as they lost their captain Temba Bavuma (8) in the second over with just 10 runs on the board.

Following the early slump, Rassie van der Dussen joined Quinton de Kock at the crease to launch an astounding recovery.

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The pair batted sensibly and kept the scoreboard ticking amid their marathon 204-run partnership with both scoring centuries.

The second-wicket partnership pushed Sri Lanka to the backfoot before Matheesha Pathirana finally struck for the Islanders by dismissing de Kock in the 31st over.

The left-handed opener scored 100 off 84 balls with the help of 12 boundaries and three sixes.

Coming out to bat at number four, Aiden Markram turned the game on its head with belligerent hitting and took the reigns of South Africa’s innings.

He put on a brief 50-run partnership with van der Dussen, who perished after top-scoring for South Africa with a 110-ball 108 which featured 13 boundaries and two sixes.

Watch ICC World Cup 2023 Live on ARY ZAP

Markram was then involved in yet another crunch partnership for South Africa when he put together a 78-run stand with Heinrich Klaassen, who played a quickfire 32-run cameo in just 20 balls.

The right-handed batter converted his dominant knock into the fastest World Cup century — a record previously held by Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien (50 balls) — as he reached the milestone in just 49 balls.

His sensational knock finally came to an end in the 48th over when South Africa were still 17 short of the 400-run mark. He smashed 106 in a mere 54 balls, laced up with 14 boundaries and three sixes.

Hard-hitting batter David Miller, with a little support from Marco Jansen’s seven-ball 12, bolstered South Africa’s total in their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign opener with a quickfire 39 in 21 balls which included three boundaries and two sixes.

Dilshan Madushanka bagged two wickets while Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana and Dunith Wellalage picked one apiece for Sri Lanka, who had a game to forget with the ball.

READ: PCB unveils Pakistan 19 squad for Sri Lanka series

England must avoid regarding Ben Stokes as a “messiah” or a “Superman” if the champions are to get their World Cup 2023 campaign back on track, according to teammate Mark Wood.

England’s title defence got off to a woeful start when they suffered a nine-wicket defeat by New Zealand in Thursday’s opening match of the tournament – a game Stokes missed with a hip injury.

England’s test captain Ben Stokes is known for his ability across all three main formats to rescue England from difficult positions, notably during the team’s dramatic World Cup final win over New Zealand at Lord’s.

But fast bowler Mark Wood said other members of the team had to “stand up”.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Wood told the BBC. “He’s not Superman. It’s not all just about the messiah Stokesy coming back and him doing everything.

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“He’s obviously one of our best players, if not our best player, but all the lads have to stand up as well.”

Ben Stokes is only in India as a batsman rather than his usual all-rounder role because of a longstanding knee problem.

Wood was one of several England bowlers to suffer as New Zealand comfortably chased down a target of 283 inside 37 overs on Thursday, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra both compiling impressive unbeaten hundreds.

“New Zealand played really well,” said express quick Wood, whose five overs cost 55 runs. “We were a bit off and they played really well. It’s as simple as that.”

But England, who next play Bangladesh on Tuesday, lost three group games in 2019 before winning the title.

“A great trait of the group is that sort of resilience and bouncing back and calmness,” said Wood. “I trust every member in there, they’ve been through bad times and good times.

“We know that we can do it.”

READ: Inzamam-ul-Haq to head Pakistan’s senior and junior selection committees

DELHI: Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to field first against South Africa in the fourth match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium.

PLAYING XIs

South Africa

Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi

Watch ICC World Cup 2023 Live on ARY ZAP

Sri Lanka

Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Overall ODIs: Matches 80, South Africa 45, Sri Lanka 33, NR 1, Tied 1

ODI World Cup: Matches 6, South Africa 4, Sri Lanka 1, Tied 1

READ: Bangladesh defeat Pakistan to win Bronze medal in Asian Games 2023

DHARAMSALA: Bangladesh kicked off their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign with a thumping six-wicket victory over Afghanistan, courtesy of an all-round performance by Mehidy Hasan Miraz here on Saturday.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz returned with figures of 3-25 in the first innings to help his side bundle Afghanistan for a meagre 156. He then scored a gusty 57 off 73 during Bangladesh’s pursuit of the target.

Set to chase 157, Bangladesh started the innings with two early wickets inside seven overs at a total of 27.

Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto then knitted an anchoring 97-run partnership off 129 to put Bangladesh in a comfortable position until Afghanistan struck to send Miraz back and cause a stir in the run chase.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan joined Shanto on the crease but was soon back to the pavilion after adding 14 runs to the total.

Najmul Hossain Shanto stayed at the crease and steered his team to the win, with back-to-back boundaries in the 35th over. He scored an unbeaten 59 runs off 83 balls, with the help of three boundaries and a six.

Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq and Azmatullah Omarzai managed one wicket each for Afghanistan.

Earlier in the first innings, Afghanistan had a decent start with opening batters putting up 47 runs on board within nine overs after being put into bat by Bangladesh’s skipper.

They lost their first wicket when Ibrahim Zadran (22) attempted to sweep Shakib Al Hasan but a top edge flew to Tanzid Hasan.

Rahmat Shah and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi scored 18 each to support a settled Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the other end and drag the total to 112-2 before Bangladeshi bowlers wreaked havoc with two wickets in five balls.

Shahidi fell while trying to slog but the ball ballooned up and landed in the hands of Towhid Hridoy, while Gurbaz mishit a slower ball from Mustafizur Rahman, which was caught by Tanzid Hasan in the deep.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 47 runs off 62 balls, with the help of four boundaries and one six.

Afghanistan team could not recover from it as their wickets kept tumbling at an alarming rate and bundled out at a meagre 156 in 37.2 overs.

They only managed to add 44 runs for the last six wickets, including a brief 24 runs partnership for the seventh wicket between Rashid Khan (9) and Azmatullah Omarzai (22). The latter was the only batter to reach double figures among the last seven batters.

Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz picked three wickets each, while Shoriful Islam grabbed two.

More to follow…

READ: Bangladesh defeat Pakistan to win Bronze medal in Asian Games 2023

DHARAMSALA: Bangladesh have won the toss and elected to field first against Afghanistan in the third match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association [HPCA] Stadium.

PLAYING XIs

Afghanistan

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Watch ICC World Cup 2023 Live on ARY ZAP

Bangladesh

Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Overall ODIs: Matches 15, Bangladesh 9, Afghanistan 6

ODI World Cup: Matches 2, Bangladesh 2, Afghanistan 0

READ: Afghanistan stun Pakistan to reach Asian Games 2023 final

HYDERABAD: A combined bowling effort after Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel’s anchoring half-centuries propelled Pakistan to launch a triumphant ICC World Cup 2023 campaign with an 81-run victory over the Netherlands.

Set to chase 287, the Netherlands could score 205 despite Bas de Leede and Vikramjit Singh’s half-centuries.

The Dutch had a decent start to the pursuit until Hasan Ali provided a much-needed breakthrough to Pakistan in the sixth over by dismissing Max O’Dowd, who could score five.

Singh then put on a brief 22-run partnership with Colin Ackermann (17), which lasted when Iftikhar Ahmed castled the latter on the first delivery of the 12th over.

Bas de Leede then joined Singh in the middle and the pair partnered strongly to knit the largest partnership of the Netherlands’ innings, adding 70 runs to the total.

The duo frustrated the strong Pakistan bowling attack before Shadab Khan broke the shackles by removing the opener in the 24th over.

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Singh scored 52 off 67 deliveries, laced with four boundaries and a six.

The Netherlands then lost their way in the run chase as they began to lose wickets at regular intervals and soon slipped to 164/7 with their mainstay Bas de Leede also walking back.

He top-scored for the Dutch with a 68-ball 67 which included six boundaries and two sixes.

Logan van Beek offered some resistance with his unbeaten 28-run cameo but Pakistan bowlers booked the side on a modest 205 runs in 41 overs.

Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with 3/43, followed by Hasan Ali with 2/33 while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz struck out a batter each.

Put into bat first, Pakistan could register a below-par total of 286 runs on the board despite anchoring half-centuries.

Pakistan got off to a dismal start as they lost their top three Fakhar Zaman (12), Imam-ul-Haq (15) and Babar Azam (5) with just 38 runs on the board in 9.1 overs.

Following the slump, wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan was joined by young Saud Shakeel at the crease and the pair launched an astounding recovery.

Rizwan and Saud batted with determination and put Pakistan back in command with a 120-run partnership for the fourth wicket, with both scoring half-centuries.

Aryan Dutt drew a much-needed breakthrough for the Netherlands in the 29th over by dismissing Shakeel, who scored a brisk 68 in 52 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and a six.

Mohammad Rizwan followed him back to the dugout in the 32nd over. He remained the joint top-scorer for Pakistan with 75-ball 68, hitting eight boundaries.

Pakistan then coped another blow in the same over when Bas de Leede got Iftikhar Ahmed (9) caught behind and consequently slipped to 188/6.

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All-rounders Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz then put together a crucial partnership for the seventh wicket and added 64 runs to the total.

The pair had Pakistan in command to bat through the allotted overs but Bas de Leede struck again to get rid of Shadab in the 44th over which opened the floodgates.

He scored 32 off 34 deliveries with the help of two boundaries.

Pakistan then lost two more wickets in quick succession including their mainstay Mohammad Nawaz walking back after scoring a 43-ball 39.

Tailenders Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi added valuable runs to the total with their 19-run partnership before Ackermann got the latter stumped to book Pakistan on a below-par total in their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign opener.

Bas de Leede led the bowling attack for the Netherlands with 4/62, followed by Ackermann’s 2/39 while Dutt, Logan van Beek and Paul van Meekeren made one scalp each.

READ: Afghanistan stun Pakistan to reach Asian Games 2023 final