Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
Images from the third and final Twenty20 international between India and England at Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Kevin Pietersen waged a lone battle but Delhi Daredevils simply lacked the firepower as they lost to Highveld Lions by 22 runs in the first semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 in Durban on Thursday.
Australia's spin legend Shane Warne blamed a lacklustre performance with the ball as the main reason for India's defeat to the West Indies in Thursday's World T20 semi-final in Mumbai.
Losing back-to-back wickets put us under pressure, says Pakistan skipper after loss to Zimbabwe
India's quest for a historic treble ended in heartbreak as Sri Lanka came up with a clinical performance to beat them by six wickets in the final of the World T20 in Mirpur on Sunday. While Sri Lanka emerged third time lucky in a World T20 summit clash, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's hopes of adding a second World T20 title to the 50-over World Cup triumph in 2011 and Champions Trophy in England two years later ended in disappointment.
Rauf said had Hardik Pandya or Dinesh Karthik hit him like that, he would have felt 'hurt'.
Indian and Australian cricketers will soon be sharing dressing rooms in the Indian Premier League and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, fresh from his team's triumph in one of the most controversial and hard-fought bilateral contests in recent times, feels it's time to 'move forward'.
India's One-day captain has received solid backing from former players to continue leading the team.
Amid constant talk of his ABD-like playing style, Surya recently said there can only be one 'Mr 360', but de Villiers himself begged to differ.
Ireland added the West Indies to their list of giant-killing victories after scoring a six-wicket victory over the World Twenty20 champions in the first T20 international at Jamaica's Sabina Park on Wednesday.
Under Ravi Shastri's tutelage, India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia when they upset the hosts 2-1 in 2018-19 before winning their second successive series two years later.
A dominant India cruised into the final with three convincing victories in a row, but Bangladesh will also be high on confidence following their thrilling victory against Sri Lanka in their last league match.
Namibia savoured their finest international win in front of thousands of Sri Lankan fans at Geelong's Kardinia Park
England qualified for the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals with a nervy victory over Sri Lanka by four wickets in their final Super 12 match on Saturday.
Sri Lanka trounced top-ranked Pakistan 3-0 after a 13-run victory in the third and final Twenty20, in front of 27,000 fans at the Gaddafi Stadium, in Lahore, on Wednesday. Needing 54 runs off the last five overs, with eight wickets in hand, Pakistan again stumbled in its run-chase for the third successive time in the series and were restricted to 134-6.
Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has finally broken his silence on his decision to retire abruptly from one-day international last November during the series against England. "It unfortunate I am blamed for the limited over series defeat to England. But one thing is clear I didn't retire abruptly or because of either head coach Waqar Younis or anyone else," Younis said on Geo Super channel. Younis, 37, said he had wanted to retire from ODIs gracefully like he had done from T20 cricket in 2009. He said he was in and out of the ODI team and had to wait for months before he was picked in the team and could retire. "Even where Test cricket is concerned when I feel it is the right time I will announce my retirement. It will be my decision," he added. Younis also declined to comment on statements by Waqar that Younis's sudden retirement on the morning of the first ODI against England upset the team and that he had sat down with Younis and told he could play at any position in all four matches of the series.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's childhood coach Jwala Singh said the focus should be on the hardwork put in by the youngster and not his 'panipuri selling' story.
'Hard one to swallow for the guys. We had the confidence and the belief to get to the knockouts. You can pick out a lot of things when you lose that way.'
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur lauded the bowlers after the team's triumphant campaign in the Women's Asia Cup, which ended with a lop-sided win in the final against Sri Lanka in Sylhet, Bangladesh, on Saturday.
Pakistan bowler Hasan Ali on Friday issued a statement for the first time since the Men in Green's semi-final defeat in the T20 World Cup 2021 against Australia.
Powered by his marauding knocks in the World Twenty20 so far, Indian batsman Virat Kohli on Tuesday became the top-ranked batsman in the ICC rankings, while India remained static at the No.1 spot in the team list. Kohli, who averages 92 after scoring 184 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of over 132, had entered the tournament 24 points behind Aaron Finch, but has now opened up a 68-point advantage over the Australian, the ICC said in a statement. In the bowlers' table, West Indies' Samuel Badree has displaced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to return to the number-one position. Badree has taken six wickets in four matches to date, while Ashwin has dropped to third after managing just four wickets in as many matches.
'As of now, he has been officially ruled out of this T20 series of South Africa for these two games. He has gone to the NCA and we are waiting for the official confirmation on the next steps.'
Former Pakistan captain and fast bowling great, Wasim Akram slammed the formation of an inquiry committee by the cricket board to probe into the team's poor show in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. "I don't understand the purpose of announcing a probe committee when the national team is due to leave for India for the World T20," Akram told a news conference on Saturday. Akram, who was Director of the Islamabad United franchise which recently won the Pakistan Super League in Dubai, said that it was lamentable that instead of supporting the team the players were being put under pressure. "I don't agree with this thinking. This decision of the Pakistan Cricket Board to evaluate the team's performance in the Asia Cup at this time," he added. "It does not make sense as the World T20 is just a few days away."
If India can boast of Virat Kohli then the West Indies have a far more dangerous player in Chris Gayle, who has achieved a legendary status in T20 cricket with his ability to win matches on his own on a consistent basis.
Karthik's gem of a cameo got him 29 off 8 balls with two boundaries and three sixes -- the last of them which will be forever be etched in the memory.
Malik also insisted that he was not thinking about the World T20 in Australia, his only focus being the Bangladesh series.
Sydney Sixers on Monday confirmed the signing of Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav for the upcoming Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).
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.
All-rounder Angelo Mathews has taken an indefinite break from national duties but his Sri Lanka team mates have signed tour contracts ahead of the limited-overs series against India.
An extended 33-member New Zealand cricket squad left for Dubai on a chartered flight from Islamabad on Saturday evening, a day after abandoning its entire tour of the country over security fears.
Nepal made history when it qualified for its maiden major ICC event on Wednesday, progressing to the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 by virtue of a five wickets victory over Hong Kong in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2013 at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
As the 16th edition of the glitzy Indian Premier League is set to unfold, let's take a look at the driving force of the T20 league and what's in store in this edition.
'It's rare that in a twenty over game all wickets fall. I don't think it's a bad idea to test everyone. Because it will give us an idea about how deep is our batting'
After resuming on 70 for 1, India A added 229 runs at the expense of seven wickets as the visitors were placed at 299 for 8 at stumps on Day 2 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. India A had bowled out the home side for 228 on the first day.
The agony and ecstasy of the Mumbai Indians-Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL 2021 encounter was best captured on the MI-RCB players's wives at the Dubai cricket stadium, September 26, 2021.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12 match between the Netherlands and South Africa, in Adelaide, on Sunday.
Luck has been a major factor in teams progressing to the semi-finals. With rain gods intervening, the equations in both groups changed a bit. There was a lot of permutations and combinations that saw England, India, New Zealand and Pakistan progress:
From Michael Holding to Virender Sehwag, the cricket fraternity mourned the demise of renowned West Indies commentator Tony Cozier and paid glowing tributes to the legendary voice of the game.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was banned on Tuesday for one year for a doping whereabouts rule violation.
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