Tag: T20 World Cup 2021

New Zealand beat Namibia to remain in T20 WC’s semi-finals race

Posted on by A Sports

SHARJAH: New Zealand beat Namibia by 52 runs to make their case stronger for T20 World Cup 2021’s semi-finals qualification. 

After setting Namibia to chase 164 runs in 20 overs, New Zealand suffered a bit of pressure as Namibia’s openers scored 47 runs in eight overs. But, the slow run-scoring pace boosted Black Caps’ confidence as they restricted opponents to 111-7 in the end.

Later on, New Zealand’s bowlers started taking wickets and Namibia’s kept on losing wickets after regular intervals. Stephan Baard (21), Michael van Lingen (25), and Zane Green (23) resisted a bit but failed to gain the rhythm.

Tim Southee and Trent Boult bagged two wickets each while Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, and Ish Sodhi managed a wicket each.

Earlier, Glenn Phillips and James Neesham partnered strongly to score 76 runs as New Zealand managed to score 163-4 against Namibia in a crucial match of Group 2.

Sent into bat first, New Zealand were off to a steady opening start of 30 runs but a couple of blows made them nervous. Martin Guptill fell after scoring 18 followed by his opening partner Daryl Mitchell getting out for 19 including two boundaries.

Skipper Kane Williamson played a calculated knock of 28 runs with the help of two boundaries and a six but didn’t manage to convert it into a big total. Phillips and Neesham joined hands to rescue their team collectively.

They scored an unbeaten 76-run partnership to set a composing total for the Black Caps. Phillips scored 39 off 21 balls laced with a boundary and three sixes followed by Neesham being not out for 35 off 23 with a boundary and two maximums.

Bernard Scholtz, David Wiese, and Gerhard Erasmus bagged a wicket each for Namibia.

TOSS

Namibia have won the toss and decided to bowl first against New Zealand

SQUADS

Namibia: SJ Baard, M van Lingen, CG Williams, MG Erasmus*, D Wiese, JJ Smit, JN Loftie-Eaton, ZE Green†, K Birkenstock, R Trumpelmann, BM Scholtz

New Zealand: MJ Guptill, DJ Mitchell, KS Williamson*, DP Conway†, GD Phillips, JDS Neesham, MJ Santner, AF Milne, TG Southee, IS Sodhi, TA Boult

T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka hand 20-run defeat to West Indies

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Sri Lanka clinched a 20-run victory over West Indies in their T20 World Cup group stage fixture in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Kieron Pollard’s side, chasing a 190-run target, were restricted to 168-8 in their 20 overs.

Shimron Hetmyer top-scored with his unbeaten knock of 81 from 54 deliveries with the help of eight boundaries and four sixes. However, it was not enough for the side to get over the line.

Wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran hit six boundaries and a six on his way to 34-ball 46.

Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka had scored half-centuries as Sri Lanka made 189-3.

Asalanka top-scored with 68 from 41 deliveries with the help of eight fours and a six while Nissanka made hit five boundaries on his way to 41-ball 51.

Andre Russell took two wickets for his side while Dwayne Bravo dismissed a batter as well.

SQUADS

SRI LANKA: Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando

WEST INDIES: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Roston Chase, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard (capt), Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Dwayne Bravo, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul

Australia easily chase 74 to beat Bangladesh in T20 WC

Posted on by A Sports

DUBAI: Aaron Finch and David Warner scored 58 runs together to lead Australia to a comfortable 74-run chase with eight wickets in hand against Bangladesh. 

Set to chase 74, Finch and Warner provided a solid start to their team with their opening partnership. Finch scored 40 runs off 20 balls laced with two boundaries and four sixes whereas Warner contributed 18 including three boundaries.

Mitchell Marsh scored 16 with the help of two boundaries and a six.

Taskeen Ahmed and Shoriful Islam bagged a wicket each for Bangladesh.

Earlier, Adam Zampa bagged five-wicket haul as Australia bowled out Bangladesh for 73 runs . 

Sent into bat first, Bangladeshi batters were rattled completely in front of Aussies. Mohammad Naim scored 17 runs off 16 balls with the help of three boundaries. Shamim Hossain made 19 runs off 18 balls including a boundary and a six.

Bangladeshi skipper Mahmudullah made 16 runs off 18 balls but couldn’t finish it with a good score for his team.

Zampa bagged five followed by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood taking two wickets each and Glenn Maxwell managing one.

TOSS

Australia have won the toss and decided to field first against Bangladesh

SQUADS

Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Bangladesh: Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah (capt), Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam

Asif Ali nominated for ICC Men’s Player of October

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DUBAI: International Cricket Council (ICC) nominated Pakistan’s hard-hitting batter Asif Ali for Men’s Player of the Month (October). 

Asif, who led Pakistan to two back-to-back victories against New Zealand and Afghanistan in T20 World Cup 2021, joins Bangladesh’s Shakib-al-Hasan and Namibia’s David Wiese in nominations.

Asif struck 27 off 12 balls in crunch moments to win the match for Pakistan against New Zealand. The powerful inning was followed by yet another eye-catching knock from him including four sixes in the 19th over to seal an important third victory in the extravaganza against Afghanistan.

Cricket fans across the globe will have the right to vote for the nominated candidates. The ICC will announce the winner next week.

READ: ‘Remember the Name’ Asif Ali wins heart of cricket world

T20 World Cup: India register convincing 66-run win against Afghanistan

Posted on by A Sports

India secured a much needed 66-run victory against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup Group 2 match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Mohammad Nabi’s side, chasing a huge target of 211, managed 144-7 on the scoreboard in their 20 overs.

Karim Janat played an unbeaten knock of 42 from 22 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and two sixes whereas the skipper hit two fours and a six on his way to 32-ball 35.

Pacer Mohammad Shami was the pick of the bowlers with his three-wicket haul whereas Ravichandran Ashwin got two wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja both got a wicket as well.

India, being asked to bat first, finished at 210-2 thanks to superb half-centuries by openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. They put on an opening partnership of 140 runs.

Sharma, who was judged player of the match, top-scored with 74 from 47 deliveries with eight fours and three sixes to his name.

Rahul made 48-ball 69 after hitting six boundaries and two maximums.

Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat bagged a wicket each.

SQUADS

India: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Afghanistan: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt.), 6 Sharafuddin Ashraf, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Karim Janat, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Hamid Hass

‘Focus, dedication behind reclaiming #1 position’ Babar Azam

Posted on by A Sports

DUBAI: Babar Azam shared the reason behind reclaiming the number one position in International Cricket Council (ICC)’s T20I batting rankings.

In a video message released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Babar said he was focused on his game and happy to reclaim the spot.

“Dedication, focus, and all the hard work helped me reclaim the number one position. I am happy and thankful to god for this achievement,” he said.

Pakistan’s performance in T20 World Cup 2021

Babar Azam is satisfied with how his boys performed so far in the ongoing multi-nation event. While praising them, Babar said he is the happiest captain watching his players taking responsibility.

“Being a captain, I am happy that how all our players performed. They all took responsibility and achieved a lot so far in the event,

“It feels relaxing when your players are performing. At the same time, you need to back those who are out of form, and we are doing that. I hope we will regroup for the semi-finals and continue the winning momentum,” he concluded.

READ: Pakistan beat Namibia to book semi-final berth in T20 World Cup

Babar Azam reclaims No.1 spot in ICC T20I batting rankings

Posted on by A Sports

DUBAI: Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam has reclaimed the number one position in International Cricket Council (ICC)’s T20I batting rankings. 

Babar, who struck his 23rd T20I fifty against Namibia in T20 World Cup’s group stage contest on November 2, overthrown England’s Dawid Malan with the rating of 834.

The Pakistani captain struck two fifties so far in the mega event, the first one was against India when he alongside Mohammad Rizwan led Pakistan to victory against their arch-rivals.

Babar has also scored a century in the shorter format, joining his compatriots Ahmed Shahzad and Mohammad Rizwan to score a century in all three formats of the game.

READ: Pakistanis congratulate Babar XI for qualifying into T20 World Cup’s semis

Scotland’s Leask puts solid fight but New Zealand pull off victory

Posted on by A Sports

DUBAI: Michael Leask fought really hard to hand Scotland first victory in the T20 World Cup but New Zealand managed to restrict them to 156-5 and win the match by 16 runs. 

Leask went on to score handy 42 runs for Scotland but it weren’t enough to win the match for his team. During his stay, he smoked three boundaries and as many sixes. Another prominent scorer was Matthew Cross who made 27 runs off 29 balls laced with five boundaries.

Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi bagged two wickets each followed by Tim Southee with one wicket. Scotland managed to get 156-5 in 20 overs.

Earlier, Martin Guptill scored unbeaten 93 runs to lead New Zealand to 172-5 in 20 overs.

Put to bat first, New Zealand were marred by a couple of early blows in the form of Daryl Mitchell (13), Kane Williamson (0), and Devon Conway (1).

But, Guptill stood firm and steady on the other end to launch fire power. The right-handed batter brought the Black Caps back in the game by smashing six boundaries and seven sixes to score 92 off 56.

Glenn Phillips supported him well and scored 33 off 37 including only a boundary. He and Guptill together made 105 runs for the fourth wicket.

For Scotland, Brad Wheal and Safyaan Sharif bagged two wickets each while Mark Watt bagged a wicket.

TOSS

Scotland won the toss and decided to field first against New Zealand

SQUADS

Scotland XI: 1 Kyle Coetzer (capt.), 2 George Munsey, 3 Matthew Cross (wk), 4 Richie Berrington, 5 Calum MacLeod, 6 Michael Leask, 7 Chris Greaves, 8 Mark Watt, 9 Safyaan Sharif, 10 Alasdair Evans, 11 Brad Wheal.

New Zealand XI: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Daryl Mitchell, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway (wk), 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Adam Milne, 9 Tim Southee, 10, Trent Boult, 11 Ish Sodhi.

Pakistanis congratulate Babar XI for qualifying into T20 World Cup’s semis

Posted on by A Sports

KARACHI: Pakistan team won their fourth consecutive match to confirm semi-final berth in the ongoing T20 World Cup. 

The Green Shirts beat Namibia by 45 runs to become the first team to qualify for the semis in the mega event.

Following convincing performance and qualification into the knock-out stage, Pakistanis congratulated Babar XI.

READ: Pakistan beat Namibia to book semi-final berth in T20 World Cup

Pakistan beat Namibia to book semi-final berth in T20 World Cup

Posted on by A Sports

Pakistan won the match by 45 runs. They booked semi-final berth in the T20 World Cup 2021

NAM 144/5 (20 overs)

Shaheen bowls last over for Pakistan

NAM 128-5 (19 overs)

Haris to bowl his last over

NAM 116-5 (18 overs)

Hasan to bowl from other end

NAM 111-5 (17 overs)

Haris comes back

NAM 107-4 (16 overs)

Shaheen bowls back

NAM 101/4 (15 overs)

Hasan comes back

NAM 93/4 (14 overs)

Shadab bowls his last over

NAM 84-3 (13 overs)

Imad is back to bowl

NAM 78-2 (12 overs)

Shadab to bowl his third over

NAM 71-2 (11 overs)

Haris comes again

NAM 70-2 (10 overs)

Shadab continues

NAM 56-2 (9 overs)

Hafeez to bowl his first over

NAM 45-1 (8 overs)

Shadab joins in

NAM 40-1 (7 overs)

Imad continues

NAM 34-1 (6 overs)

Haris joins the bowling attack

NAM 24-1 (5 overs)

Imad comes to bowl

NAM 23-1 (4 overs)

Hasan bowls

NAM 15-1 (3 overs)

Shaheen continues

NAM 8-1 (2 overs)

Hasan comes to bowl

NAM 7-0 (1 over)

Shaheen to start bowling for Pakistan. Stephan Baard, Michael van Lingen open for Namibia

Namibia need 190 runs to win 

Rizwan (79*)

Hafeez (32*)

PAK 189-2 (20 overs)

Smit to bowl last over for Namibia

PAK 165-2 (19 overs)

Wiese bowls

PAK 155-2 (18 overs)

Trumpelmann bowls his last over

PAK 138-2 (17 overs)

Smit to bowl his third over

PAK 127-2 (16 overs)

Frylinck bowl his last over

PAK 118/1 (15 overs)

Wiese to bowl his third

PAK 109-0 (14 overs)

Frylinck comes again

PAK 101-0 (13 overs)

Eaton comes in

PAK 89/0 (12 overs)

Trumpelmann bowls

PAK 71/0 (11 overs)

Shikongo comes back

PAK 59/0 (10 overs)

Loftie-Eaton comes to bowl

PAK 50/0 (9 overs)

Smit comes again

PAK 45/0 (8 overs)

Frylinck continues

PAK 36-0 (7 overs)

Shikongo has been given bowling

PAK 29-0 (6 overs)

Frylinck given bowling

PAK 23-0 (5 overs)

Smit comes to bowl

PAK 13-0 (4 overs)

Wiese continues

PAK 6-0 (3 overs)

Trumpelmann continues

PAK 4-0 (2 overs)

David Wiese comes to bowl

PAK 0-0 (1 over)

Babar, Rizwan open Pakistan’s batting. Ruben Trumpelmann bowls for Namibia

Pakistan vs Namibia (1st innings)

ABU DHABI: Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam has won the toss and decided to bat first against Namibia in their second last match of the T20 World Cup 2021. 

SQUADS

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi

NAMIBIA: Stephan Baard, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (capt), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green (wk), Jan Frylinck, Ruben Trumpelmann, Ben Shikongo