England survived a late onslaught from the tail-end batsmen of West Indies to win a thrilling third and final Twenty20 by five runs in Barbados on Thursday.
West Indies were always struggling in their chase as they lost wickets at regular intervals but their total was boosted by a fine unbeaten 79 from 45 balls by Rovman Powell before they ran out of deliveries.
Eighteen days of international One-day cricket will provide an aperitif for next year's Ashes series in England with the world governing body hoping to capitalise on West Indies' success in the Twenty20 World Cup.
England's players hired Lime Bikes to reach The Oval, while the West Indies team were stuck in heavy road traffic in London.
It is believed that if Saini stays back, it will help bowling coach Bharath Arun to invest more time in the 26-year-old Karnal-lad
'Local legend has it the West Indians were plied with copious amounts of Ireland's favourite Guinness whisky the night before the match in 1969, though no one is willing to go on record about it!' says Gulu Ezekiel.
The brave displays of cricket's second-tier nations were the brightest feature of the Twenty20 World Cup, which got off to a rocky start and culminated in a predictable home win for white-ball behemoths India on Sunday.
Jason Holder backed underfire opener Shai Hope and insisted the team were in good shape ahead of Friday' start of the decisive Test at Old Trafford.
West Indies finished on 167-9, with Romario Shepherd caught on the final ball of the match.
India's bowling coach, Morne Morkel, addresses the team's inconsistent performance leading up to the T20 World Cup semifinal against England, emphasising the importance of winning the next two games. He also discusses England's strengths and the potential impact of weather conditions on the match.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav on Wednesday climbed five places to seventh in the ICC men's T20I rankings
Batting great Viv Richards has slammed 'arrogant' Caribbean administrators for thinking they are as important as players and has laid the blame for the decline of West Indies cricket firmly at their door.
Rahul Dravid said the European T20 Premier League offers an 'exciting opportunity' to grow cricket in Europe after becoming owner of the Dublin Guardians franchise.
Root surpassed 7000 runs in ODIs and also went past Eoin Morgan to become England's leading ODI run-scorer.
Scotland were included into the T20 World Cup following Bangladesh's withdrawal citing security concerns despite the ICC insisting that there were no threats as per their assessment.
Opening the innings, Samson blazed away to a 26-ball half-century as India raced to 67/1 in the Powerplay.
In a match that guaranteed qualification for the winner, the West Indies were bowled out for 198 to give Scotland a gilt-edged chance of participating at their fourth finals when the World Cup is hosted in England next year.
Mohammed Siraj is confident of putting up a strong show against defending World Test Champions South Africa in the 'crucial' two-match series, starting in Kolkata, on Friday.
Jos Buttler top-scored again as England chased down an imposing target and beat West Indies by four wickets in the second T20 International on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead.
Fans are so confident of India retaining the ICC World T20 title that that they would like March 8 (the day of the final) to be added to the list of special days in March as 'Indian cricket's double-triumph day'.
India opener Shafali Verma has climbed two places to sixth in the ICC Women's T20I Batting Rankings after her half-century against South Africa.
The South Africa-born 33-year-old has not played for the senior England team since the first Test in Brisbane 18 months ago, after which he returned home with stress-related problems.
Darren Sammy, who led the West Indies to their second World T20 title in India recently has been bestowed with a special honour with the cricket ground in his home country St Lucia to be renamed after him. St Lucia Prime Minister Kenny Anthony announced that Beausejour Stadium will be renamed Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium after the Windies captain led his team to glory in thrilling fashion in the World T20 final against England on Sunday night. Sammy is the first international cricketer to emerge from the island nation, having first represented West Indies in ODI cricket in 2004, and has gone on to captain his country in all three formats.
Following is a factbox on the second World Twenty20 semi-final between West Indies and India to be played at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
India relied on their bowlers to stage a remarkable recovery scripting a comfortable 48-run win in the second cricket One-day international against the West Indies to level the five-match series 1-1 in New Delhi.
Minnows Scotland came up just four runs short of a famous upset in a World warm-up match.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will be flying home from the West Indies for treatment on his hip injury and will miss the final Test match, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Friday. Flintoff, who is not involved in the fourth match being played in Barbados, will miss the final Test in Trinidad starting on March 6 but will leave "with a view to returning" for the subsequent one-day series, the ECB said.
The halcyon days of those thrilling 1980s and early 1990s teams, when Curtly Ambrose and his fellow pace demons inspired fear and batting blasters like Viv Richards looked so imperious on English tours, have never felt more like pre-history.
West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach is a "genuine great" and can easily achieve the milestone of 300 Test wickets with proper workload management, believes legendary pacer Courtney Walsh. Roach will be a key bowler for West Indies in the three-Test series against England, starting at Ageas Bowl in Southampton from Wednesday.
Bangladesh secured a historic first-ever home Test victory against Pakistan in Dhaka, marking a significant milestone in their cricket journey.
England paceman Jofra Archer says he has fully recovered from a right elbow injury sustained earlier this year and hopes to play in all three Tests against the West Indies next month. Barbados-born Archer's injury had ruled him out of England's tour of Sri Lanka and the Indian Premier League before both were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher has been added to the squad and will link up with the group this week, having been in Australia with the England Lions.
Nepal coach Nick Pothas emphasises the need for players to learn from past mistakes and perform under pressure as they face Scotland in their final T20 World Cup match. He also highlights the importance of a robust domestic structure for the national team's growth.
South Africa recently suffered a 5-0 drubbing in Sri Lanka while West Indies cricket is at a low ebb.
A B de Villiers hammered the fastest 150 in ODI history as he led South Africa to a record-equalling 257-run win over the West Indies. Images from the match.
India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah says the experience of bowling with the Duke ball in English conditions helped him succeed in the ongoing Test tour of the West Indies.
The Clive Lloyd-side defeated Australia to lift the trophy.
The West Indies Masters secured a thrilling eight-run victory over England Masters in the International Master League, thanks to an all-round team effort. After a strong start from Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith, England's spinners, led by Chris Schofield and Monty Panesar, turned the tide. However, late contributions from Deonarine and Ashley Nurse helped West Indies reach a respectable total of 179/6. England's chase faltered early, but a late partnership between Schofield and Chris Tremlett gave them hope. Ultimately, the West Indian bowlers held their nerve, securing a crucial win.
Smriti Mandhana retains her top position in the latest women's ODI batting rankings, while New Zealand players make significant gains after strong performances against Zimbabwe.
Former Cricket West Indies boss Dave Cameron has thrown his hat in the ring to succeed India's Shashank Manohar as the next chairman of International Cricket Council.
