In the history of the T20 World Cup, only Virat Kohli has... | Cricket News

In the history of the T20 World Cup, only Virat Kohli has… | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: When you talk about achievements or awards in any ICC tournaments, Virat Kohli‘s name has to be there and the talismanic Indian batsman stands out as the only player to have won two “Player of the Tournament” in the history of the T20 World Cup, in 2014 and 2016 editions.His ability to consistently deliver match-winning knocks under immense pressure is truly awe-inspiring.Kohli’s hunger for success, coupled with his impeccable technique and mental fortitude, has earned him a place among the cricketing greats.Shahid Afridi, the flamboyant all-rounder from Pakistan, etched his name in history by claiming the award in 2007. His explosive batting and crafty leg-spin bowling made him a formidable force on the field. Afridi’s ability to single-handedly turn the tide of a match with his audacious strokeplay and clever variations was a sight to behold. Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lankan batting maestro, was the recipient of the award in 2009. His innovative “Dilscoop” shot and aggressive batting approach left bowlers perplexed and spectators enthralled. Dilshan’s ability to adapt to different situations and his consistency at the top of the order made him a vital cog in Sri Lanka’s success.Kevin Pietersen, the swashbuckling English batsman, claimed the award in 2010. His ability to dominate any bowling attack with his array of audacious shots and sheer power made him a nightmare for opposition teams. Pietersen’s fearless approach and ability to rise to the occasion in crunch situations set him apart from his contemporaries.Shane Watson, the Australian all-rounder, was the deserving winner in 2012. His ability to contribute with both bat and ball made him an invaluable asset to his team. Watson’s power-hitting and incisive bowling spells often turned the tide in Australia’s favor, making him a true match-winner.David Warner, the swashbuckling Australian opener, etched his name in the annals of T20 World Cup history by claiming the award in 2021. His blistering batting displays, coupled with his exceptional running between the wickets, made him a force to be reckoned with. Warner’s ability to set the tone for his team with his aggressive intent was a sight to behold.Sam Curran, the young English all-rounder, emerged as the surprise winner in 2022. His ability to contribute with both bat and ball, coupled with his composure under pressure, made him a standout performer. Curran’s versatility and maturity beyond his years bode well for his future in the game.

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Babar Azam: 'Babar Azam should bat at...': Shoaib Malik wants change in Pakistan skipper's batting order | Cricket News

Babar Azam: ‘Babar Azam should bat at…’: Shoaib Malik wants change in Pakistan skipper’s batting order | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: After Pakistan’s seven-wicket loss to England in the fourth T20I at Kennington Oval, former cricketer Shoaib Malik suggested that skipper Babar Azam should bat at number three. Babar scored 36 runs off 22 balls with a strike rate of 163.64, hitting 5 fours and 1 six. Malik, on his official X account, acknowledged the tough series and emphasized the need for a batsman who can rotate the strike in the middle overs, suggesting Babar as the best option.He also encouraged Azam Khan and Shadab Khan to maintain their confidence as vital players for the team.Malik wrote: “Tough series! Remember: we’ve been in tough spots before & came out stronger! IMO Babar should bat at no 03! We need someone in the middle overs to rotate strike, you are our best option. Azam & 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.” In the match, England chose to field first. Babar Azam (36 off 22) and Mohammed Rizwan (23 off 16) started strong, but Adil Rashid (2/27) and Moeen Ali (1/23) applied pressure, reducing Pakistan to 86/5. Contributions from Usman Khan (38 off 21) and Iftikhar Ahmed (21 off 18) helped Pakistan reach 157/10 in 19.5 overs. England’s bowlers Mark Wood (2/35) and Liam Livingstone (2/17) also performed well.In the chase, England’s openers Phil Salt (45 off 24) and Jos Buttler (39 off 24) dominated, making 78 runs in the powerplay. Despite a brief fightback by Haris Rauf (3/38), Jonny Bairstow (28* off 16) and Harry Brook (17* off 14) finished the match in 15.3 overs, securing a seven-wicket win for England.(Inputs from ANI)

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T20 World Cup 2024: Australia captain Mitchell Marsh not ready to bowl yet, says coach

T20 World Cup 2024: Australia captain Mitchell Marsh not ready to bowl yet, says coach

Australia coach Andrew McDonald has said that skipper Mitchell Marsh isn’t ready to bowl yet in the T20 World Cup and will be playing as a pure batter in their opener against Oman. Marsh is returning to the side after an injury layoff as he picked up the issue during the IPL 2024 campaign. The all-rounder would have to return from India back home for rehabilitation and cut short his IPL 2024 campaign. Marsh would reveal that he was getting good when the team was announced and was part of the side that faced West Indies and was dismissed for four runs. Speaking after the game, McDonald said the warm-up games was all about ticking off where Marsh’s fitness was. The Australia coach said that the skipper has built up confidence after fielding for a few more overs and was able to move freely. “For Mitch, (the warm-up games) was about ticking off where his body was at,” McDonald told cricket.com.au. “He fielded more overs tonight, he was able to move more freely, so he’s building a little bit of confidence there. It looks as though he’s all set for the first game. “The second part is just when the bowling comes back online â€æ it won’t be the first game.” What McDonald said about West Indies game? The match against West Indies saw the hosts hit the Aussies for 257 runs on the back of Nicholas Pooran’s 75. McDonald said that conceding close to 260 runs in a T20 game isn’t ideal but they were working on a few plans. “To concede 260-odd runs in a T20 game is not ideal,” said McDonald. “But we were working through some plans, we were working through what we needed to get out of the game, so there was a little bit of â€æ working on certain deliveries and certain things that can unfold. “I’m sure the West Indies were the same as well, I’m sure they were working on things that weren’t associated with the opponent they were playing.” Australia will open their campaign against Oman on June 5 and then face England three days later. Published On: May 31, 2024

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Shakib Al Hasan keen on extending his career – India TV

Shakib Al Hasan keen on extending his career – India TV

Image Source : GETTY Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh veteran and former captain Shakib Al Hasan had hinted at taking a call on his international career after Champions Trophy 2025 in September last year. But he doesn’t have plans to quite any time soon it seems as the all-rounder is hoping to play another T20 World Cup in 2026 that will take place in India and Sri Lanka. Shakib is one of the only two players (Rohit Sharma being the other), to feature in all nine T20 World Cups and many felt it could be his last mega event in the shortest format. However, the left-handed all-rounder is already entertaining plans to play next T20 World Cup scheduled in 2026. At the same time though, the man is focusing on contributing for Bangladesh in the upcoming tournament and hopes that the team does well in the mega event. “Firstly, when I started I didn’t expect that I will play for so long and secondly since the start of T20 Cricket World Cup till this T20 World Cup, I have participated in all them along with Rohit Sharma. It is a matter of pride for me and I’m happy that I could represent the country. “Me and Rohit Sharma are the only two players who played all the T20 World Cups and I hope that I can play another World Cup but before that would like to perform well in the tournament and Bangladesh can do better than previous T20 tournament,” Shakib said in a video uploaded on BCB’s Facebook page. With his family based there, USA can be called Shakib’s second home and believes Bangladesh can do well in the tournament with conditions favouring them. However, the team is coming off a a shocking series defeat by 2-1 in the three-match series against the USA. “It is alright that USA is my second home but it is difficult to say but I think we will get that because earlier when we played in West Indies and America we did well and we played in Florida we did well,” Shakib further added.

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Rohit Sharma trains 'bowler' Shivam Dube for T20 World Cup ahead of India vs Bangladesh warm-up game

Rohit Sharma trains ‘bowler’ Shivam Dube for T20 World Cup ahead of India vs Bangladesh warm-up game

India are slated to face Bangladesh at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Saturday in their only warm-up fixture ahead of their opener in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is on June 5 against Ireland at the same venue. Ahead of the match, India hosted their final practice session with former captain Virat Kohli still absent, but significant aspects remained Rinku Singh’s batting and Shivam Dube’s lengthy chat with captain Rohit Sharma. India had their practice session on Friday ahead of the T20 World Cup warm-up game against Bangladesh Just like on Thursday, India had a three-hour-long practice session on Friday morning as well. Kohli was the only squad member missing, as the 35-year-old was en route to New York to join the Indian side. Kohli had reportedly extended his period of break after the end of his IPL 2024 campaign and, hence, was not part of the first batch of players that left for the World Cup. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! India started their training session with fielding drills, focusing on flat and high catches under the watchful eyes of fielding coach T Dilip. The focus then shifted to the batting nets, where Suryakumar Yadav spent a considerable time facing throwdowns. Rohit followed in next as he faced the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan and Ravindra Jadeja, with the captain even practising the reverse sweep against the spinners. During his session, he was also seen having a lengthy chat with Dube about which areas or lengths to bowl, given that it was a drop-in pitch at the Cantiague Park in New York. According to the video released by Star Sports, Rohit can be seen animatedly explaining Dube about the lengths and the type of shots batters can attempt. Dube has been picked as an all-rounder in the Indian team despite getting limited opportunities with the ball in IPL 2024 as the Impact Player reduced his role to a mere middle-order batter. After bowling in the home series against Afghanistan earlier in January, Dube rolled hi arms for only an over in IPL 2024 for Chennai Super Kings, where he also picked a wicket. Unlike Thursday, when Yashasvi Jaiswal had a light training session owing to jet lag, the India opener had a proper session at the nets as he honed his cover drives and pull shots, while Hardik Pandya, once again, had a long batting stint while having regular conversations with batting coach Vikram Rathour throughout his session. Rathour was seen explaining to Hardik about his head position, stance and footwork. Rinku Singh in fluent touch The Kolkata Knight Riders batter may have missed the T20 World Cup squad cut with selectors opting for four spinners in the line-up, leaving Rinku in the reserves category, but the left-hander looked in fluent touch at the nets. According to journalist Vimal Kumar, Rinku looked in flair at the nets. With Kohli most likely to miss the warm-up game against Bangladesh, given that he will be joining the squad on Friday evening, and will be recovering from jet lag on Saturday, India might send Rinku to bat during the match.

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Australia dealt a major blow ahead of T20 World Cup 2024 – India TV

Australia dealt a major blow ahead of T20 World Cup 2024 – India TV

Image Source : GETTY Australia team Australia have been dealt a massive blow ahead of T20 World Cup that is set to commence from June 2 (as per Indian Standard Time). Their skipper Mitchell Marsh won’t be bowling at least in their opening game against Oman scheduled on June 6 at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown in Barbados. Marsh is yet to recover completely from his hamstring injury sustained in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year while playing for Delhi Capitals. In fact, Marsh also played as a pure batter in the two warm-up matches against Namibia and West Indies scoring 18 and 4 runs respectively. Moreover, he didn’t take the field for the full bowling innings as well in the warm-ups as Matthew Wade took over the captaincy responsibility from him. Meanwhile, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed the development related to the captain’s injury recovery while confirming that Marsh will definitely play the first game but is not up to the mark when it comes to bowling. “For Mitch, (the warm-up games) was about ticking off where his body was at. He fielded more overs tonight (in the warm-up against West Indies), he was able to move more freely, so he’s building a little bit of confidence there. It looks as though he’s all set for the first game. The second part is just when the bowling comes back online. It won’t be the first game,” McDonald told cricket.com.au. Australia conceded 257 runs against the West Indies in their second warm-up game but with only nine players available, they did feel the absence of their key players who are yet to join the team having played the Indian Premier League for two months. But McDonald is not worried much about the group spending time together ahead of the mega event. “It was by design, in terms of when we were getting people back after the IPL; we were well aware we weren’t going to get the squad together until the first of next month. We’ve got some things in place where we’ll bring the group together, we’ll work through our plans leading into Oman and there’s a bit of space between that game and (playing) England,” the Aussie head coach added.

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West Indies slam 257 runs against Australia in T20 World Cup warm-up, win by 35 runs – India TV

West Indies slam 257 runs against Australia in T20 World Cup warm-up, win by 35 runs – India TV

Image Source : GETTY Australia vs West Indies Rain has played a massive role in the T20 World Cup warm-up matches so far in the USA and the West Indies. However, when the Caribbean side locked horns against Australia on May 31 (Friday) at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain in Trinidad, it rained sixes. A total of 479 runs were scored in 40 overs with only 11 wickets falling while 31 maximums were hit. After being invited to bat first, Shai Hope got out eary but batting at three, Nicholas Pooran teed off right from the word go smacking 75 runs off just 25 deliveries in the 90-run partnership with Johnson Charles. The left-hander smashed five fours and eight sixes during his stay in the middle. The carnage didn’t stop as skipper Rovman Powell also showed off his hitting skills scoring 52 runs off 25 balls before getting out to Tim David. Australia continued to play with nine players much like they did against Namibia with their coach and chief selector taking the field. Their bowling attack expectedly suffered with even the likes of Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Ellis being taken away for a lot of runs. In fact, Zampa suffered the most conceding 62 runs in his four-over spell while Hazlewood and Ashton Agar also went for 55 and 58 runs respectively in their four overs. Apart from Pooran and Powell, Sherfane Rutherford also batted well for the Caribbean side amassing 47 runs off just 18 balls with four fours and as many sixes to his name. Thanks to these powerful performances, West Indies posted 257 runs in their 20 overs.  In response, Australia started off at a brisk pace reaching 60 runs in less than five overs but lost their top three batters in the process. Josh Inglis was the only batter with the substantial contribution in the big chase as he scored 55 runs while Nathan Ellis played a fighting knock down the order mustering 39 runs off 22 balls. With only nine players, they couldn’t chase down the mammoth target but reached 222 runs in 20 overs for the loss of seven wickets. The Aussies will be happy with the way they fought but the West Indies will be delighted to see their players hit the straps ahead of the T20 World Cup.

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Azam Khan shown no mercy after flop show vs England as PCB, Babar Azam accused of 'nepotism'

Azam Khan shown no mercy after flop show vs England as PCB, Babar Azam accused of ‘nepotism’

Azam Khan’s selection for Pakistan’s T20 World Cup team created plenty of controversy, due to his position as son of former national team skipper Moin Khan. Now his form has also not helped his cause, and has given more impetus to fans to criticise his selection. Pakistan’s Azam Khan walks back to the changing rooms after losing his wicket.(AP) The wicketkeeper-batter was dismissed for a five-ball duck in Pakistan’s fourth T20I against England. Receiving a short delivery by Mark Wood, Aam could only loop it into the air, for a simple catch behind the stumps. Pakistan could only post 157 in 19.5 overs. Meanwhile, England reached 158/3 in 15.3 overs, winning by seven wickets. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan said, “Azam Khan is an embarrassment to international cricket.” Meanwhile, another fan wrote, “PCB ko chahiye keh ICC se baat kar ke Azam Khan ki jagah 60, 60 kg walay 2 players khila le.” Another fan wrote, “No sane team will play Azam Khan again until he sorts out his fitness!” One fan wrote, “Azam Khan is the best example of nepotism in our country. Mediocrity rules here in every department. Shameless people who persisted with him must be charged and sentenced. This is a criminal act not a simple mistake.” Here are the other reactions- For the T20 World Cup, Pakistan are placed in Group A, alongside Canada, India, Ireland and the USA. Babar Azam and Co. will open their campaign on June 6, taking on the USA in Texas. Speaking after Pakistan’s defeat in the series vs England, Babar said, “First six overs, we played very well. After that, the momentum shifted as wickets fell. Our middle-order needs to step up. You need 2-3 good overs in the middle and in the death as well. England’s bowling was very good. Hopefully we don’t do this in the World Cup. We made a couple of changes due to the injuries. Our powerplay was good. We have played good cricket in patches.”

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Watch: Virat Kohli adorably mentions wife Anushka as 'ma'am' while paparazzi thank the couple for gifts | Cricket News

Watch: Virat Kohli adorably mentions wife Anushka as ‘ma’am’ while paparazzi thank the couple for gifts | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Star batter Virat Kohli on Thursday departed for the United States to join the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Americas. With the rest of the team already in New York, practicing ahead of their warm-up game against Bangladesh, followed by the campaign opener against Ireland on June 5, Kohli was the last to leave the country and will be joining the team soon.As soon as Kohli arrived at the airport, he was mobbed by fans and paparazzi as the star India batter obliged to requests for selfies. The photographers also thanked Kohli for the gift he and wife Anushka Sharma sent them after the birth of their son, Akaay. And while responding to the paps, Kohli adorably mentioned Anushka as ‘ma’am’, saying that it was actually she who sent the gifts. The gift hamper that Kohli and Anushka sent to the paps had the message: “We sincerely thank you for respecting the privacy of our children and for your unwavering cooperation.”Kohli, the Orange Cap winner in the just-concluded IPL season, goes into the T20 World Cup in red-hot form and will be one of the players to watch in the tournament. Earlier, there were reports saying that Kohli had asked for a short break at the conclusion of the IPL and that’s why he was the last to leave for the T20 World Cup. In the 2024 edition of the IPL, Kohli amassed 741 runs at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.70. He also scored 5 fifties and a century in the season.

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Watch: After delivering just six balls in IPL 2024, Shivam Dube the bowler gets guidance from Rohit Sharma for T20 World Cup | Cricket News

Watch: After delivering just six balls in IPL 2024, Shivam Dube the bowler gets guidance from Rohit Sharma for T20 World Cup | Cricket News

He may have bowled just six deliveries for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the just-concluded season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but India captain Rohit Sharma is probably looking to utilize all-rounder Shivam Dube‘s seam-up skills more often in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Team India had its first training session in the US on Thursday, ahead of their only warm-up fixture against Bangladesh on June 1 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, followed by the campaign-opener agaist Ireland on June 5 at the same venue. ALSO SEE: T20 World Cup Schedule An interesting note from India’s practice was the sight of Dube getting guidance from Rohit on the lengths to bowl, while the right-arm medium-pacer bowled to his skipper in the nets.Interestingly, Dube was asked to bowl just a solitary over by CSK in the 14 matches he played during IPL 2024, which concluded on May 26. Dube took wicket in the over while conceding 14 runs.WATCH VIDEO OF INDIA’S TRAINING SESSION CSK’s strategy for utilizing Dube revolved exclusively around his batting skills, asking the tall man, who bats left-handed, to go after spinners in the middle overs, which Dube did successfully. On the expectedly slow, spinning tracks in the West Indies, India may also be inclined to follow that. Dube scored 396 runs in 14 innings during IPL 2024 with a highest of 66 not out and strike rate of 162.30. He hit three half-centuries. However, Rohit may not be looking to use Dube as a batsman alone as India eye ending an 11-year wait for another ICC trophy.

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