Tag: T20 World Cup 2024

LAUDERHILL: Dasun Shanaka bamboozled Ireland’s batting unit with a four-fer and propelled Sri Lanka to a comfortable 41-run victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match here on Friday.

Put into bat first, Sri Lanka registered a formidable total of 163/8 in the allotted 20 overs, courtesy of Angelo Mathews’ unbeaten 32 run-knock.

The seasoned all-rounder batted sensibly at the backend after coming out to bat at No.7 and added valuable runs for Sri Lanka.

Mathews was the top-scorer for Sri Lanka, followed by skipper Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (26), Dasun Shanaka (23) and opener Pathum Nissanka (22).

Josh Little and Barry McCarthy led the bowling attack for Ireland with two wickets each while Ben White, Curtis Campher, Craig Young and Mark Adair made one scalp apiece.

In response, Ireland’s batting unit unfolded on a measly 122 before being bundled out in the penultimate over.

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Campher topped the scoring for Ireland with a run-a-ball 26 while skipper Paul Stirling (21) was the other notable run-getter as the rest of their batters faltered against the Shanaka-led Sri Lankan bowling attack.

Shanaka returned astonishing figures of 4/23 in 3.2 overs while Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana bagged two wickets each.

Meanwhile, in another ICC T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up clash, Afghanistan outclassed Scotland by 55 runs.

Batting first, Afghanistan posted 178/8 in the allotted overs at the back of Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai.

Naib top-scored for Afghanistan with a blistering 69 off 30 deliveries, laced up with five fours and six sixes while Omarzai made a 36-ball 48, hitting six boundaries including two sixes.

In response, Scotland could only manage 123/9 in 20 overs despite Mark Watt’s gutsy knock.

Watt waged a lone battle for Scotland with a 25-ball 34 down the order while experienced opener George Munsey (28) contributed significantly.

READ: Robin Uthappa believes Ireland can upset Pakistan in T20 World Cup

Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa predicted that Ireland would upset Pakistan in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The Pakistan Men’s cricket team has been struggling to get on the winning track ahead of this year’s mega event.

The Green Shirts played three bilateral T20I series in a bid to prepare for the T20 World Cup 2024 but could not produce the desired results.

The former champions played out a 2-2 draw against an inexperienced New Zealand side in a five-match home series before registering a 2-1 away series win over Ireland.

In their last assignment before the World Cup, Pakistan succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in the four-match away series against England.

But the biggest setback for Pakistan was the shock loss against Ireland in the first T20I.

Remember, Pakistan and Ireland are placed in Group A of the T20 World Cup 2024 and the two sides will lock horns in the mega event on June 16.

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Meanwhile, former Indian batter Robin Uthappa made a massive claim that the Pakistan team will suffer an upset in the 20-team tournament, specifically due to their below-par fielding.

“It’s just that Pakistan have been one of those teams where, in a tournament, especially in an ICC tournament, they have always been upset by somebody. There is one of those games.

“See, their fielding has been particularly iffy at all times. we have seen it in the latest Asia Cup that even happened. I think, across time, in fact, Pakistan’s fielding has been very shady in that sense.

“So, I think, one of those games will happen where they will not turn up. I feel a team like Ireland can certainly upset them.”

Uthappa then went on to claim that Ireland would be the most likely side to upset Pakistan, highlighting their strong batting and bowling department.

“If you look at the batting order, I think it looks quite strong in itself,” said Robin Uthappa.

“Their bowling attack is also pretty good. Josh Little leads the attack. He’s been very impressive not just for Ireland but even when he has come to India to play in the IPL. Plays leagues around the world. He is a quick customer.

“Unassuming, Ge seems like he is not very quick. But he is actually very quick. Bowls a very heavy ball. Curtis Campher is someone who has also done really well for them. So, for me, Mark Adair is also someone who has done well.”

READ: Shoaib Malik boosts Pakistan’s ‘morale’ ahead of T20 World Cup

Veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik came out in support of the Pakistan Men’s cricket team after their 2-0 series defeat against England just ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Malik termed the England series a tough one but highlighted how the national team dealt with similar situations in the past.

“Tough series! Remember: we’ve been in tough spots before & came out stronger,” Shoaib wrote.

He then offered a piece of advice to Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam and urged him to bat at No.3, coining the right-handed batter the “best option” to rotate the strike in the middle overs.

“IMO [In my opinion] Babar should bat at no 03! We need someone in the middle overs to rotate strike, you are our best option, with your guidance our middle order will do a lot better,” Malik added.

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The former captain also threw his weight behind all-rounder Shadab Khan and young wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan, who have been struggling to find the rhythm.

“Azam and Shadab, you two are vital for our team, don’t lose confidence, play with heart, you are match winners. Going into the World Cup, keep your morale high, we’ve got this,” he concluded.

Notably, Shoaib Malik’s statement came minutes after Pakistan succumbed to a 2-0 series defeat against England as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat against England in the fourth T20I at Kennington Oval, London.

The four-match series against England was Pakistan’s final opportunity to gear up for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 as the 2009 champions missed the warm-up matches for this year’s mega event.

Former champions Pakistan will start their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against the co-host United States of America (USA) on June 6 before taking on arch-rivals India in a blockbuster clash on June 9 in New York.

READ: Babar insists Pakistan ‘on track’ despite England series debacle

PORT OF SPAIN: Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell scored swashbuckling half-centuries and lifted West Indies to down Australia in a high-scoring ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match here on Thursday.

Put into bat first, West Indies racked up a mammoth total of 257/4 with Pooran and Powell leading the attack.

The hosts got off to a briefly flying start to their innings as they lost Shai Hope in the third over with 38 runs on the board. Hope scored 14 off eight deliveries.

Wicketkeeper batter Pooran then joined Johnson Charles in the middle and launched a belligerent attack on the Australian bowlers.

Pooran smashed five fours and eight sixes on his way to an astonishing 75-run knock from 25 deliveries before being dismissed by Adam Zampa in the 10th over.

Charles was then involved in another partnership for the West Indies when he added 48 runs for the third wicket with skipper Rovman Powell before finally perishing in the 14th over.

The opening batter scored an anchoring 40 off 31 deliveries with the help of six fours.

Powell was quick to follow as he perished in the 16th over soon after bringing up his quickfire half-century.

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He scored 52 off 25 balls with the help of eight boundaries including four sixes.

Sherfane Rutherford then took the reigns of West Indies’ batting charge with a blistering cameo and scored an unbeaten 47 off 18 balls, bolstering the home team’s total past the 250-run mark in the allotted overs.

Adam Zampa bagged two wickets for Australia but was expensive while Ashton Agar and Tim David made one scalp each.

In response, Australia finished at 222/7 despite a brisk half-century from Josh Inglis.

The right-handed batter top-scored for Australia with a 30-ball 55 with the help of five fours and four sixes while batting at No.4.

Besides him, Nathan Ellis (38), Ashton Agar (28), Tim David and Matthew Wade (25) made notable contributions for the former champions but their efforts were not enough to steer them over the line.

Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph led the bowling attack for the West Indies with two wickets each while Obed McCoy, Shamar Joseph and Akeal Hosein chipped in with a wicket apiece.

READ: T20 World Cup warm-up: Australia forced to field coach, selector against Namibia

Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting has unveiled his predictions for the highest run-scorer and the top wicket-taker for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, starting from June 1.

Ponting predicted that Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah would be the leading wicket-taker at the mega-event. Meanwhile, for the highest run-getter, Ponting picked Australian top-order batter Travis Head.

The former captain appreciated Bumrah’s ability to swing the ball as well as his impressive economy. Bumrah claimed 20 wickets in 13 games at an economy of 6.48 during the recently concluded IPL.

“My leading wicket-taker for the tournament will be Jasprit Bumrah. I just think an outstanding performer, and contributor for a number of years now. He’s just come off an outstanding IPL,” Ponting told The ICC Review.

“What he can do with the new ball, he swings the new ball, he has the seam up. But at the end, his economy rate at the end of the IPL was less than seven runs an over.

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“He takes wickets. He does bowl a lot of the hard overs too. When you bowl the hard overs in T20 cricket, it gives you a chance to pick up a lot of wickets along the way. So, I’m going with him.”

Ricky Ponting then praised Head for his batting prowess across formats in the last two years. Head scored crucial centuries in the finals of the ICC World Test Championship and ICC ODI World Cup 2023.

“My prediction for the leading run-scorer will be Travis Head. I just think everything he’s done, whether it be red-ball or white-ball in the last couple of years, has been of the highest quality. I think he’s playing fearless cricket at the moment,” Ponting said.

“His IPL had its ups and downs, but when it’s been good, it’s been very good. And it has won games of cricket for his team,” Ponting noted.

“And it’ll be exactly the same for Australia. So, look, he might not be the most consistent on the way through this tournament, but he’ll be right up there, I’m sure, with the leading run scorers. And as I’ve said, if he spends any amount of time at the wicket for Australia, he’ll win more games than ever.”

READ: Pakistan improve T20I ranking ahead of T20 World Cup 2024

Pakistan men’s team has improved their T20I rankings ahead of the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to be played in the United States of America (USA) and the West Indies from June 1.

Pakistan moved one place up courtesy of South Africa’s clean sweep loss against the West Indies in the three-match T20I series.

The Proteas lost three places to seventh, and the West Indies jumped two spots to reach fourth. Meanwhile, Pakistan clinched the sixth spot.

“Two-time champions West Indies have moved up to fourth position in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, their players showing some great form ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which they co-host from 1-29 June,” the ICC stated in a recent press release.

“The winners of the 2012 and 2016 editions of the tournament are ahead of New Zealand and South Africa after their 3-0 win over South Africa, who were pushed down to seventh position in the list led by India.

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“India, winners of the inaugural edition in 2007, are on 264 rating points, 2021 champions Australia are second with 257 points, defending champions England third with 254 points and the West Indies two points behind them on 252. New Zealand are on 250 while Pakistan and South Africa are both on 244 points with Pakistan slightly ahead on decimal points.”

Pakistan players also made significant gains in the T20I players’ rankings as Fakhar Zaman jumped six places up to reach 51st in the ICC T20I batting rankings. Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi, rose up three spots to equal 11th with Australia’s Adam Zampa.

Haris Rauf also gained two places to 25th after picking two wickets in the second T20I against England. Notably, this was his comeback game after missing out on the series against New Zealand and Ireland due to a shoulder injury.

Star all-rounder Imad Wasim jumped 14 places to reach 38th in the bowling rankings and four places to joint-12th with teammate Shadab Khan.

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Australian Test cricketer Usman Khawaja has extended his support for teammate Glenn Maxwell, expressing optimism that the all-rounder will showcase his top form in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, despite his recent performance in the IPL.

Maxwell represented Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the recently concluded IPL, where he managed a meagre 52 runs in nine innings.

However, Khawaja backed Maxwell, calling IPL form ‘irrelevant.’ He expressed hope that the all-rounder will bounce back during the mega-event.

“The IPL form is absolutely irrelevant. Maxy’s proven himself time and time again. Any player who’s performed over a long period of time understands that you can’t perform well every time you go out there,” Khawaja said while speaking to the West Australian.

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The experienced opener acknowledged the high-risk nature of T20 cricket, where the middle-order batters often need to maintain higher strike rates. However, Usman Khawaja expressed confidence that Glenn Maxwell only requires one innings to regain his form.

“You take a few risks, particularly if you bat in the middle order, and T20 cricket’s not easy. But [for this tournament] if he gets one good innings, he’s away. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past. He’s not going to change his game and nor should he. Just keep going. He’ll find it,” Khawaja added.

Maxwell did not participate in Australia’s first T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up fixture against Namibia yesterday, along with Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green, and Marcus Stoinis. These players were participating in IPL and expected to link up with the team soon.

Australia will face co-hosts West Indies in their final warm-up match on Thursday at the same venue.

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PORT OF SPAIN: Australia were forced to field coaches and national selector during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up fixture against Namibia at Queen’s Park Oval Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.

Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald, assistant coaches Brad Hodge and Andre Borovec, as well as chairman of selectors George Bailey, featured in the match as substitutes due to a shortage of players.

There were only nine players available for Australia, as Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, and Marcus Stoinis had yet to link up with the team after the conclusion of the IPL.

The former T20 World champions invited Namibia to bat first and restricted them to 119-9 in 20 overs, courtesy of brilliant bowling performance by Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.

Hazlewood picked two wickets for five runs, while Zampa returned with figures of 3-25.

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Zane Green was the notable contributor for Namibia with a 30-ball 38, which featured five boundaries.

Australia chased down the total in a dominant fashion in only 10 overs, thanks to David Warner’s aggressive strokeplay. He smashed three sixes and six boundaries on his way to a 21-ball 54.

Tim David scored 23 runs from 16 balls, while Matthew Wade scored an unbeaten 12 off five balls.

For Namibia, Bernard Scholtz picked two wickets.

Australia will next face co-hosts West Indies in their final warm-up match on Thursday at the same venue.

READ: Olivier Giroud’s leadership will be missed, says AC Milan captain

LAUDERHILL: Netherlands handed a 20-run upset defeat to Sri Lanka in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up fixture at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium here on Tuesday.

Put into bat first, the Netherlands registered a commendable total of 181/5 in the allotted 20 overs.

Meanwhile, former champions Sri Lanka only managed 161 in response and thus succumbed to a shock loss heading into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Dutch opening batter Michael Levitt played a quick 55-run knock from 28 balls before retiring. Meanwhile, Teja Nidamanuru added 27 runs in the middle overs to stabilise the Dutch innings.

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Later, skipper Scott Edwards scored an unbeaten 12-ball knock of 27 to push the team’s total to set Sri Lanka to chase an 182-run target.

For Sri Lanka, Dilshan Madushanka returned with bowling figures of 2-39 from his four overs, while Nuwan Thushara, Dunith Wellalage and Angelo Mathews claimed one wicket each.

Sri Lanka failed to get the desired start as they were reduced to 30-4 in the powerplay before Dhananjaya de Silva (31) and Dasun Shanaka (35*) gave them some hope.

Sri Lankan captain Wanindu Hasaranga then notched a blistering 43 off 15, including five consecutive sixes but could not get his team across the line as they were bowled out for 161 in 18.5 overs.

Netherlands’ Aryan Dutt picked three wickets, while Kyle Klein managed two. Logan van Beek also bagged one wicket.

READ: Former New Zealand cricketer compares Kohli with Ronaldo, Messi

DALLAS: Nicholas Kirton’s anchoring half-century, followed by Dilon Heyliger’s four-fer led Canada to an astonishing 63-run victory over Nepal in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match here on Tuesday.

Put into bat first, Canada racked up a massive total of 183/7 on the board, courtesy of Kirton’s 52 and Ravinderpal Singh’s late fireworks.

Canada, however, had a shaky start to their innings as their opener Aaron Johnson perished cheaply in the third over with just 22 runs on the board.

They then lost Rayyan Pathan in the next over with the scoreboard reading 33 as the right-handed batter was retired out on the first delivery.

Kirton then joined Navneet Dhaniwal in the middle and the duo partnered strongly to add 50 runs for the second wicket.

The anchoring partnership lasted on the penultimate delivery of the 10th over when Dhaniwal fell victim to Gulshan Jha after scoring a cautious 32 off 27 deliveries.

Kirton then formed brief partnerships with Pargat Singh (13) and Shreyas Movva (2) before finally perishing in the 16th over.

He remained the top-scorer for Canada with a 39-ball 52 which featured four fours and two sixes.

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Canada were in heaps of trouble being six down for 123 in 16 overs after Dilpreet Bajwa’s dismissal but their No.8 Singh came out all guns blazing and turned the game on its head with belligerent hitting.

Singh smashed one four and four sixes on his way to a 17-ball 41.

Abinash Bohara led the bowling charge for Nepal with two wickets while Sagar Dhakal, Lalit Rajbanshi, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami and Karan KC chipped in a wicket apiece.

Set to chase 184, Nepal’s strong batting lineup unfolded on a meagre 120 despite a notable performance by their top order.

Kushal Malla waged a lone battle for Nepal with a 30-ball 37, followed by Anil Sah (24), Aasif Sheikh (22) and Kushal Bhurtel (10), who made notable contributions while the rest of their batters failed to make it into the double digits.

Dilon Heyliger was the pick of the bowlers for Canada with 4/20, followed by Jeremy Gordon and Saad Bin Zafar contributed with two wickets each.

In other T20 World Cup warm-up matches, Oman defeated Papua New Guinea by three wickets while Namibia outclassed Uganda by five wickets.

Whereas, the fourth T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match between the United States of America (USA) and Bangladesh was abandoned without a ball bowled.

READ: England captain Buttler likely to miss third T20I against Pakistan