Showing posts with label Cricket World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cricket World Cup. Show all posts
Monday, 29 December 2025
Thursday, 23 May 2024
INDIA, THE BIGGEST PROMOTER OF T20 CRICKET, IS DETERMINED TO END A WORLD CUP TITLE DROUGHT
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| Kohli. AP Photo |
NEW DELHI (AP) — In the ever-growing Twenty20 cricket landscape, India boasts the richest and most-watched league in the world. Yet all that investment and attention hasn't translated into international success for India's national team.
Rohit Sharma’s India squad travels to the T20 World Cup in the United States and Caribbean in search of a second title to end a long drought.
Undoubtedly, the Indian Premier League is flush with cash and talent, attracting the best cricketers from across the world.
Since the advent of IPL, though, India hasn't lifted the World Cup trophy.
After winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, India has only reached one more final — losing to Sri Lanka in 2014.
The title drought crosses formats, too. India last won an International Cricket Council title in 2013 – the Champions Trophy in England. It last lifted the Cricket World Cup in the 50-over format in 2011.
Last year was an exceptional one in that sense – India lost the World Test Championship final to Australia in England and, a few months later, also lost the 50-over World Cup final to Australia, this time on home soil.
That caused major anguish in a cricket-mad country of 1.4 billion, considering India was on a 10-0 winning streak and a hot favorite going into the final.
Seven months later, Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli are leading the campaign in what in all probability will be their last T20 tournament in India's blue.
Sharma has been a part of every Indian squad at the T20 World Cup. Kohli made his debut in the 2012 edition, making this his sixth attempt at the title.
Kohli has scored 1,141 runs at an average of 81.50 and strike-rate 131.30 in his 27 games at the tournament. Sharma has scored 963 runs in 39 games at a strike rate of 127.88.
Both players missed all of India's T20 internationals between the 2022 semifinal loss in Australia and January of this year, leading to some speculation they'd miss out on the 2024 World Cup starting June 1.
That was dispelled by both BCCI secretary Jay Shah and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. Now, there will be big focus on their contributions – in terms of runs and strike-rate.
Sharma only managed 417 runs for Mumbai Indians in the club's unsuccessful 2024 IPL campaign. Kohli, meanwhile, topped the run charts for Royal Challengers Bengaluru with with 741 runs runs in 15 matches, avering 61.75. But his strike-rate earlier in the season was criticized by some TV broadcast analysts.
In a news conference to confirm the India squad, Agarkar brushed off any concerns regarding Kohli’s strike-rate.
“There’s a difference between IPL and international cricket,” Agarkar said. “You need experience as the pressure of a World Cup game is different. You (only) try to take positives from what is happening in the IPL.”
Kohli opens the batting for his IPL franchise but goes in at No. 3 for India in T20s. It has led to a significant debate over his batting position for the World Cup because it holds the key to India’s XI.
Should Kohli continue to bat at No. 3, Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the innings with Sharma. India will then have to play with only four specialist batters including Suryakumar Yadav, the world’s top-ranked T20 batter.
Allrounder Hardik Pandya and first-choice wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant would slot in next, with bowling allrounders to follow.
If Kohli opens with Sharma, it allows for an extra batter in the middle order and likely makes room for Shivam Dube, who has impressed selectors with his power hitting in the IPL and strike rate of 162.29.
Dube can also bowl useful medium pace if needed, and could provide backup to Pandya.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will lead a bowling attack that will contain four spinners, including left-arm all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzendra Chahal complete the line-up.
“I asked for four spinners,” Sharma explained. “Most of our matches will start at 10-11 a.m. (and) we expect all-rounders to do a job for us. It gives us a variety of combinations to explore depending on the opposition.”
India begins its World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5, then faces fierce rival Pakistan in New York on June 9 in what could be the highlight of the group stage. India will play the U.S. on June 12 and Canada on June 15.
While it is a seemingly straight-forward road for India in the first round, the tension to end a prolonged title drought will grow once it reaches the West Indies for the Super Eight stage.
- CHETAN NARULA
Sunday, 19 November 2023
AUSTRALIA RESTRICTS INDIA TO 240 ALL OUT IN CRICKET WORLD CUP FINAL AS KOHLI MAKES 54
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| AP Photo |
AHMEDEBAD, India (AP) — Australia appeared in command of the Cricket World Cup final on Sunday after restricting India to 240 all out, with a disciplined bowling performance by the five-time champions quietening the heavily pro-Indian crowd inside the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium.
Pat Cummins took 2-34 in 10 overs, stunning the crowd into silence by dismissing Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. Mitchell Starc finished with 3-55 in 10 overs.
Kohli (54) and Lokesh Rahul (66) struck half-centuries for India after the tournament host was put into bat in a bold decision by Australia captain Cummins. Both sides were unchanged from the semifinals.
A slow wicket, some reverse swing and the falling of early wickets — India was reduced to 81-3 in the 11th over — made for tough batting conditions, so Australia still had work to do to earn a record-extending sixth 50-over world title.
INDIA'S KING KOHLI ADDS 54 TO RECORD FOR.MOST RUNS IN A SINGLE WORLD CUP IN FINAL AGAINST AUSTRALIA
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| AP Photo |
AHMEDEBAD, India (AP) — Indian batting star Virat Kohli extended his record run tally at a Cricket World Cup to 765 from 11 games on Sunday.
It is the most runs scored by a batter in a single World Cup, with Kohli bettering yet another Sachin Tendulkar record.
India great Tendulkar had scored 673 runs in 11 matches at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.
King Kohli, as he’s sometimes known, had already crossed that tally in the first semifinal against New Zealand in Mumbai, where India won by 70 runs.
Saturday, 18 November 2023
'KING KOHLI' 50-OVERS GOAT DEBATE AT RUN-LADED WORLD CUP
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| Reuters |
Virat Kohli has long been on the cusp of batting greatness and at 35 years old he is making a solid case to be considered the greatest 50-overs player of all time after a run-laden World Cup campaign on home soil.
Sachin Tendulkar was the game's premier batsman until he retired in 2013, and Kohli has inherited that mantle from his compatriot, dominating the game for long stretches in the past decade.
Initially, Kohli was part of batting's "Fab Four" alongside England's Joe Root, Australia's Steve Smith and New Zealand's Kane Williamson.
While others have faded somewhat recently, Kohli has been burning brightly, and pulling ahead of his peers.
From 2011 to 2019, Kohli scored more than 1,000 ODI runs a year seven times before going nearly three years without a hundred in international cricket.
The elegant right-hander ended that drought in September last year and has been at his prolific best at the current World Cup, where he is the runaway top-scorer with 711 runs from 10 matches including three centuries.
He overtook Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI hundreds in Mumbai on Wednesday and it was only fitting that his idol was present at the Wankhede Stadium to see it.
Sunday, 12 November 2023
Saturday, 11 November 2023
Monday, 6 November 2023
Sunday, 5 November 2023
Monday, 30 October 2023
Thursday, 26 October 2023
SRI LANKA HEAPS MORE WORLD CUP MISERY ON ENGLAND WITH BIG WIN
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| Reuters |
Sri Lanka breathed life into their World Cup campaign and left England in increasing danger of missing out on a semi-final spot after crushing the defending champions by eight wickets in a low-scoring match on Thursday.
Chasing a modest 157 for only their second win, Sri Lanka overcame the loss of two early wickets before Pathum Nissanka (77 not out) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (65 not out) got them across the finish line in 25.4 overs.
The pair played with plenty of patience in their 137-run partnership for the third wicket after an initial burst by David Willey (2-30) to ensure England suffered a third straight World Cup defeat for the first time since 2015.
The win lifted Sri Lanka to fifth in the table while England are ninth, ahead of only the Netherlands.
Sri Lanka earlier restricted England to a below-par 156 all out in 33.2 overs in the must-win clash between the tournament's stragglers, with only Ben Stokes offering some resistance in an otherwise dismal batting display.
Stokes (43) took the attack to Sri Lanka on a dry wicket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after England's middle-order collapsed in the face of some incisive bowling, but he holed out to Dushan Hemantha in the deep off Lahiru Kumara (3-35) in the 31st over.
Tuesday, 24 October 2023
DE KOCK'S 174 PROPELS SOUTH AFRICA TO 382 V BANGLADESHI
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| Reuters |
South Africa opener Quinton de Kock smashed 174, the highest individual score at this year's World Cup, to propel his team to an imposing 382-5 against Bangladesh on Tuesday.
The left-handed batter clobbered seven sixes and 15 fours in 140 balls to overtake India's Virat Kohli as the tournament's leading scorer with three hundreds in five matches.
Aiden Markram, leading South Africa in the absence of the unwell Temba Bavuma, made 60 after winning the toss and electing to bat at the Wankhede Stadium.
Heinrich Klaasen provided the late surge with an explosive 90 off 49 balls to leave Bangladesh with a mountain to climb when they begin their chase.
De Kock, Klaasen and David Miller, who made 34 not out, smashed a combined 19 sixes in the match.
South Africa sit third, behind India and New Zealand, in the points table with the top four at the end of the group stage making the semi-finals.
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Monday, 23 October 2023
Tuesday, 27 June 2023
WORLD CUP TO BEGIN OCT. 5 | AHMEDABAD HOSTS FINAL
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| Reuters |
The Cricket World Cup will begin on Oct. 5 with England facing New Zealand in Ahmedabad and the same venue hosting the final on Nov. 19, organisers said on Tuesday, with the schedule for the showpiece in India also confirming Pakistan's participation.
The fixtures were revealed by the International Cricket Council during an event in Mumbai, less than four months before the start of the 50-overs tournament, with the delay partly due to sour political relations between India and Pakistan.
India's refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in August-September triggered the latest dispute between the bitter neighbours, who play each other only in multi-team events.
Pakistan responded by threatening to boycott the World Cup if they were not allowed to stage at least some matches of the Asia Cup on home soil.
The stalemate was finally resolved this month when Pakistan agreed to split matches with Sri Lanka, where India will play their Asia Cup matches.
South Asia's arch-rivals meet in the tournament's most anticipated match on Oct. 15 in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium - the biggest cricket venue in the world by capacity.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) added a caveat saying they would still need government clearance for any tour to India, including World Cup match venues.
"We are liaising with our government for guidance," PCB Communications Director Sami Ul Hasan said in a statement.
"This position is consistent to what we had told the ICC a couple of weeks ago when they shared with us the draft schedule and sought our feedback."
India begin their campaign on Oct. 8 against five-times champions Australia in Chennai.
England's opener against New Zealand is a rematch of the 2019 final in which England prevailed via a now-scrapped boundary count rule.
Among other key fixtures, 1992 champions Pakistan meet Australia in Bengaluru on Oct. 20, while England take on South Africa the following day in Mumbai.
Australia captain Pat Cummins said he was looking forward to the atmosphere at the match with India in Chennai.
"You know there's going to be big crowds, but no bigger than playing India at home in a World Cup game, so that's going to be exciting for us," he said.
"It will be a huge challenge, they're a top-class team but if you want to win a World Cup you're going to have to be better than everyone else, so why not take on India straight up?"
The first semi-final will take place on Nov. 15 in Mumbai with Kolkata hosting the second the following day. Both games, as well as the final, will be day-night fixtures.
There will be a total of 10 venues for the 10-team tournament - Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Apart from hosts India, the teams that have qualified include Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
Two more sides will join them following a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe, which will conclude on July 9.
Twice winners West Indies have appeared at every tournament since it was first staged in 1975 but defeat by the Netherlands in the qualifying event on Monday leaves their chances hanging by a thread.
- Reuters
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