T20 World Cup
Asif's 4 sixes in 1 over seals Pakistan win over Afghanistan
Asif Ali smashed four sixes in the next-to-last over of the match to seal a five-wicket win for Pakistan over neighbor Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup on Friday.
Set 148 to win at a noisy and colorful Dubai International Stadium, Pakistan needed 24 runs with two overs remaining and had just seen key batters Babar Azam and Shaoib Malik get out.
Read: Tigers make a habit of defeat, become first team eliminated from T20WC
Enter Asif, who took on the medium pace of Karim Janat in the 19th over by clearing the boundary over long-off off the first ball, over midwicket off the third ball and straight down the ground off the fifth ball. With the six runs still needed to win, he completed the over by hitting Janat's sixth ball for six over extra cover, too, to clinch a third straight win for Pakistan.
Asif finished 25 not out off just seven balls.
READ: Australia canters to 7-wicket World Cup win over Sri Lanka
Afghanistan fell to its first loss of the tournament after opening with a win over Scotland, narrowly failing to secure what would have been the biggest victory in its cricketing history at a time of uncertainty back home following the Taliban's takeover of the country in August.
Tigers make a habit of defeat, become first team eliminated from T20WC
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, Bangladesh lost by three runs to West Indies in Sharjah Friday, a perfect losing record in their first three games meaning they become the first team to be eliminated, i.e. with no chance of qualifying from their Super 12s group in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.
In their remaining two matches of this stage of the World Cup, they will take on South Africa and Australia on November 2 and 4. But these will merely offer the chance to salvage some prestige at best.
To pull up the maiden win in the Super 12s stage of the T20 World Cup, Bangladesh needed to score 34 off the last four overs with six wickets in hand, Liton Das and captain Mahmudullah Riyad at the crease.
But despite some misfields and a dropped catch by the West Indians, the Tigers fell short.
Liton was playing the anchor, and having taken it deep, should have been the one to see the team through to victory at that point. Instead he started wasting deliveries, erratically moving around the crease with no benefit, got no boundaries and then off the last delivery of the 19th over, holed out at long on to a great catch by Jason Holder.
The batsmen crossed, and it meant new batsman Afif would be on strike for the start of the 20th over, with 13 needed to win. Tigers' inability to hit boundaries to relieve pressure cost them dearly.
Riyad was on strike for the last three deliveries, needing 8 to win. One boundary would probably have carried the team over the line. Instead he gave a catch, but was dropped at deep square leg, they completed two runs. The next delivery yielded two more thanks to a misfield. Riyad faced the last ball with 4 needed for victory.
READ: Australia canters to 7-wicket World Cup win over Sri Lanka
Demonstrating the art of keeping calm under pressure, Andre Russell put it right in the blockhole, and Riyad completely missed it.
Bangladesh ended up on 139 for 5 in 20 overs and endured a third straight defeat in the Super 12s.
In reply to West Indies’ 142, Bangladesh started well as Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Naim opened the innings. It was the first time in his T20I career when Shakib takes the field as an opener. They added 21 in the first wicket stand.
Australia canters to 7-wicket World Cup win over Sri Lanka
A robust stand between openers David Warner and captain Aaron Finch propelled Australia to a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup on Thursday.
Warner smashed 64 off 42 balls and Finch hit 37 off 23 deliveries as Australia romped to 155-3 in 17 overs for its second successive win in Group 1. Australia, which defeated South Africa in the first game, joined England at the top of the group.
For Sri Lanka it was a first defeat in five games after it qualified for the Super 12s on the back of three successive wins in the qualifiers and also beat Bangladesh in its opening Group 1 game.
Read: ICC T20 Ranking: Bangladesh steps down two notches to settle for 8th place
Both Australian openers hammered boundaries at will against spinners and fast bowlers in an explosive start of 70 off 41 balls, with Lahiru Kumara getting smashed for three boundaries and a six in one over.
Legspinner Adam Zampa (2-14) and Mitchel Starc (2-34) earlier pulled back Sri Lanka in the middle overs before restricting them to 154-6 after Finch won the toss and opted to field first.
Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Group Stage Scenario of Super 12 Round
Kusal Perera and Charith Asalanka both scored 35 runs each but fell in successive overs as Australia came back strongly through the spin of Zampa. Starc clean bowled lefthanded Perera off a sharp yorker and Asalanka was caught in the deep off a flat sweep against Zampa.
T20 World Cup: Wounded Tigers desperate to win against West Indies
After losing two consecutive matches in the Super 12s of the ongoing T20 World Cup, Bangladesh are all set to take on the West Indies on Friday, determined to accept nothing short of a victory.
In the first match, Bangladesh lost to the South Asian opponent Sri Lanka. Following that shocking defeat, they suffered another defeat to England— which was the maiden clash between the two teams in T20Is. Now the Tigers are set to take on the current T20 world champions.
The match will begin at 4pm (Bangladesh time).
In both the matches, Bangladesh struggled due to their fragile batting line-up. Ahead of another match in the Super 12s, Tigers are in dire need to register a win to stay alive in the T20 World Cup.
In the last match against England, Bangladesh performed poorly in every department of the game. They batted first after winning the toss and posted only 124 runs. England chased that easy target with eight wickets in hand, and 35 balls to play.
Read: ICC T20 Ranking: Bangladesh steps down two notches to settle for 8th place
ICC T20 Ranking: Bangladesh steps down two notches to settle for 8th place
Bangladesh cricket team miserably went down two steps to settle for the 8th place in the recently published ICC T20 Ranking after their frustrating performances in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, 2021.
As per ICC T20 ranking, published on October 27, Bangladesh went down to the 8th slot from 6th with 236 rating points.
Bangladesh advanced to the 6th place in the previous ICC T20 ranking after winning the T20 home series against Australia and New Zealand and started their campaign T20 World Cup 2021 with a high hope of reaching the semifinal, but their dream was almost shattered after conceding two successive defeats against Sri Lanka and mighty England at the Super 12 stage.
Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Group Stage Scenario of Super 12 Round
Bangladesh made a frustrating start in the World Cup losing to Scotland by six runs in the qualifier, conceded five wickets defeat against Sri Lanka and an eight-wicket defeat against top seed England in the Super 12 stage after beating Oman and Papua New Guinea by 26 and 84 runs respectively in the qualifiers.
Afghanistan moved up to the 7th place securing the same rating of 236 while Australia advanced to the 6th slot with 242 rating points.
West Indies and Sri Lanka, now ranked 9th and 10th respectively, followed the Bangladesh neck and neck bagging 233 rating points each.
Read: T20 World Cup: Bangladesh capitulate to England
Bangladesh may go down further in the ranking if they lost their remaining three Super 12 matches of the ongoing T20 World Cup against West Indies,
South Africa, Australia and England remained on the top slot securing 279 rating points, followed by India and Pakistan with 264 rating points each, New Zealand with 255 and South Africa with 249 rating points.
ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Group Stage Scenario of Super 12 Round
The Super 12 Round of the seventh edition of the Twenty20 World Cup started on October 23. The remaining matches of the tournament will be held in the UAE. Twelve teams are battling for a spot in the semifinals. There appears to be a lot of competition in group 1. On the contrary, Pakistan's position in the semifinals is all but assured from group 2. Let’s find out which teams from each group have a stronger chance of making the semi-finals of ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
The favorites in each group to advance to the semifinals
Group 1
The group 1 teams are Bangladesh, Australia, England, West Indies, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Let’s take a look at the positions of each team in group 1.
Group 1 Standings (as of October 27)
Teams
Match
Win
Lose
Points
NRR
England
2
2
0
4
3.614
Sri Lanka
1
1
0
2
0.583
Australia
1
1
0
2
0.253
South Africa
2
1
1
2
0.179
Bangladesh
2
0
2
0
-1.655
West Indies
2
0
2
0
-2.550
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read ICC T20 World Cup 2021: High-Voltage Match between India and Pakistan
England
One of the favorites, England are currently in the first position in Group 1 with two wins in two games. They have three more matches to play in the Super 12 round. If England win at least one of their remaining matches, they will qualify for the semifinals.
Verdict: 1st place
Remaining Fixtures: Australia (October 30); Sri Lanka (November 1); South Africa (November 6)
Read T20 World Cup 2021: Afghanistan Win Big against Scotland as Mujeeb takes fifer
Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan team is full of confidence after four consecutive victories in the tournament. However, they must win two or more of their remaining games to qualify for the semifinals, which will be very tough for them.
Verdict: Third place
Remaining Fixtures: Australia (October 28); South Africa (October 30); England (November 1), West Indies (November 4)
Read BAN vs. ENG: Bangladesh's Three Spectacular Victories Over England
Australia
Australia got off to a strong start by defeating South Africa. This Australian team isn't the best in the world, but they have enough talent to progress to the semifinals.
Verdict: second place
Remaining Fixtures: Sri Lanka (October 28); England (October 30); Bangladesh (November 4), West Indies (November 6)
South Africa
After losing the first match against Australia, the proteas national team made a fantastic comeback in their second game against West Indies. However, finishing in the top two in the points standings will be extremely difficult for South Africa.
Verdict: fourth place
Remaining Fixtures: Sri Lanka (October 30); Bangladesh (November 2); England (November 6)
Read ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Major Takeaways from Bangladesh's Loss to Scotland
Bangladesh
After losing two straight matches in the super 12 round, Bangladesh's biggest achievement in this round will be to win a match. Therefore, the most important aim will be to defeat the West Indian team.
Verdict: Sixth place
Remaining Fixtures: West Indies (October 29); South Africa (November 2); Australia (November 4)
West Indies
The two-time World Cup winner West Indies are struggling to find their rhythm as a team in this tournament. They have lost their first two games against England and South Africa, respectively. The Windies have a slim chance of making it to the last four.
Verdict: Fifth place
Remaining Fixtures: Bangladesh (October 29); Sri Lanka (November 4); Australia (November 6)
Read ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Shakib Al Hasan Reaches Three Unique Milestones
Group 2
The group 2 teams are India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Namibia, and Scotland. Let’s take a look at the positions of each team in group 2.
Group 2 Standings (as of October 27)
Teams
Match
Win
Lose
Points
NRR
Pakistan
2
2
0
4
0.738
Afghanistan
1
1
0
2
6.500
Namibia
1
1
0
2
0.550
New Zealand
1
0
1
0
-0.532
India
1
0
1
0
-0.973
Scotland
2
0
2
0
-3.562
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Pakistan
Pakistan shocked everyone after a thrashing of India in their T20 World Cup opener on October 24. They also snatched a stunning win over New Zealand, putting them in a strong position to advance to the semifinals. Pakistan need a win to secure a place in the semifinals, and their upcoming fixtures will be against weaker opponents.
Verdict: 1st place
Remaining Fixtures: Afghanistan (October 29); Namibia (November 2); Scotland (November 7)
Read T20 World Cup 2021: Five Bangladesh players to watch out for in the tournament
Afghanistan
Afghanistan's ICC T20 World Cup 2021 campaign began with a resounding 130-run victory over Scotland. This Afghan team has some excellent players and can upset any team in the world on their day. However, with India and New Zealand having superior squads than them, securing a spot in the semifinals will be really hard.
Verdict: Fourth Place
Remaining Fixtures: Pakistan (October 29); Namibia (October 31); India (November 3), New Zealand (November 7)
Namibia
Namibia defeated Scotland in their Super 12 round opener. Their biggest success in this round will be finishing ahead of Scotland in the points standings.
Verdict: Fifth place
Remaining Fixtures: Afghanistan (October 31); Pakistan (November 2); New Zealand (November 5), India (November 8)
Read Toppers List at the end of the IPL 2021
New Zealand
New Zealand must defeat India in order to advance to the semifinals after losing their Super 12 opener against Pakistan. Therefore, the match between India and New Zealand could be the most appealing.
Verdict: Third place
Remaining Fixtures: India (October 31); Scotland (November 3); Namibia (November 5); Afghanistan (November 7)
India
India are under pressure after losing their first match against arch-rival Pakistan. However, India have a very strong squad, and they will undoubtedly come back in their next match against New Zealand. India are still hot favorites to advance to the semifinals from this group.
Verdict: Second place
Remaining Fixtures: New Zealand (October 31); Afghanistan (November 3); Scotland (November 5); Namibia (November 8)
Read T20 World Cup 2021: SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh Team
Scotland
The Scottish team played well in the qualifying round. They won all of their fixtures to finish first in group B in the qualifiers. Scotland had high hopes of beating Namibia and Afghanistan in the Super 12 round. However, they lost both matches and are likely to finish bottom in Group 2 points table.
Verdict: Sixth place
Remaining Fixtures: New Zealand (November 3); India (November 5); Pakistan (November 7)
Verdict
After breaking down each team's current standings, it is evident that England and Australia have a higher chance of progressing to the semifinals from Group 1. Sri Lanka and South Africa will fight tooth and nail for a spot in the knockout round. On the other hand, Pakistan are in a commanding position of Group 2 and will most likely finish first in the standings. India, New Zealand, and Afghanistan all have a fair chance to proceed to the last four from this group. Hopefully, the deserving teams will advance to the semifinals of ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Read ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Potential milestones to achieve by Bangladeshi players
Trumpelmann leads Namibia over Scotland at T20 World Cup
Fast bowler Ruben Trumpelmann rattled Scotland with three wickets off his first four balls as Namibia won by four wickets in the T20 World Cup on Wednesday.
Namibia looked by far the better of the two ICC associate member nations that qualified for the main draw with Scotland restricted at 109-8.
Namibia stuttered in the middle overs against spinners before JJ Smit (32 not out) carried it to 115-6 in 19.1 overs with a six over point boundary. It was Scotland’s second successive loss in Group 1 after three wins in the qualifiers.
"Delighted to get another World Cup win,” said Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus. “Ruben sets high standards for himself. He hadn’t quite hit the straps earlier, but today he did and he started off well for us to throw the first punch.”
In the absence of injured skipper Kyle Coetzer, Scotland slipped to 3-2 in leftarm paceman Trumpelmann’s (3-17) first over with both the runs coming through wide balls.
George Munsey dragged the first ball back onto his stumps. Calum MacLeod was beaten by the bounce and edged behind the wicketkeeper, and stand-in captain Richie Berrington was out leg before wicket off a delivery which swung into the right-hander.
“Disappointing day for us, we were about 20-30 runs short and pretty hard to recover after the first couple of overs,” Berrington said. “Credit to Namibia for bowling so well early on. We’ve got a few days to reflect and recover. One of our strengths is to stick together.”
The other Namibia fast bowlers — Jan Frylinck (2-10), Smit (1-20) and David Wiese (1-22) — challenged the middle order with their variations as Scotland lost wickets with regular intervals. Michael Leask (44) and Chris Greaves (25) fought back in the middle overs to carry Scotland above the three-figure mark in the end.
Namibia was cruising to 50-1 by the end of ninth over before Scotland spinners made them struggle with some impressive bowling. Greaves and Mark Watt bowled steady spells of four overs each to finish with identical figures of 1-22.
And offspinner Leask went through the defenses of Erasmus before getting the all important wicket of Wiese (16) when Namibia needed only eight for victory.
Scotland came into the Super 12s off the back of three straight victories in the qualifiers but since then its batsmen have put up two disappointing scores. Afghanistan bowled out Scotland for just 60 in a massive 130-run victory in the first match.
Asif powers Pakistan to semis doorstep after Rauf’s 4-for
Pakistan registered their second win in as many games in the Super 12s of the ongoing T20 World Cup on Tuesday beating New Zealand by five wickets, thanks to some lusty late blows from the blade of Asif Ali.
Having beaten India by a big margin of 10 wickets— their first win by this margin in the format, as well as India’s first defeat by the same margin – in their opening match, it means the men in green are now ideally placed to make it through to the semifinals as one of the top two teams in their group.
Their remaining encounters are against the relatively easier opponents in their group – Afghanistan, and associate members Scotland and Namibia.
In Tuesday’s match, New Zealand batted first after losing the toss. They could only manage a below-par total of 134 for eight wickets in 20 overs.
Read: T20 World Cup: West Indies concede 2nd consecutive defeat in Super 12s
Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway were jointly the highest scorers for New Zealand, posting 27 each. Three of the other New Zealand batters have reached a two-digit score each but failed to continue on a good run.
Team management resembles rehab centre for South African coaches: Mashrafe
Former Tigers skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has said the Bangladesh team management at present resembles a rehabilitation centre for South African coaches out of a job.
Mashrafe made the statement on social media after Bangladesh lost their first Super 12s encounter of the ongoing T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka by five wickets, from a good position. It was one of the matches that Bangladesh had aimed at to pave their way to the semi-finals.
“The current team management looks like a rehab centre for all the South African coaches out of a job to rehabilitate themselves by working,” Mashrafe wrote on his social media handle. “Sacking them is another problem because then you have to pay off the remaining amount in their contract. So as things stand, they can do as they wish as long as they are here.”
Mashrafe backed Mahmudullah Riyad, the current captain of the Bangladesh T20 team who has faced criticism for his decisions in the match that Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka. According to Mashrafe, despite the fact that the captain is the ultimate decisionmaker of a cricket team, the coaches also have something to say when a captain struggles to make a crucial decision.
“I agree that the captain makes the final call in the field,” he wrote. “But doesn’t the coach discuss with the captain the crunch moments of a match? A captain can be under different types of pressure in a nervy moment of a match. Did our coach ask the captain what is his plan?”
Read: ‘Heart destroyed seeing two defeats yesterday’: Mashrafe
Mashrafe also stood by Liton Das, who faced a tremendous backlash as well for his sloppy fielding dropping two easy catches in the match against Sri Lanka. The batters, who got a life after Liton missed the two catches, sealed the game for the Lankans.
“There should be no excuse for Liton’s bad fielding. I think Liton will also not give an excuse for his misses. It’s part of the game. But did we ask the fielding coach (Ryan Cook) why we miss catches? After the World Cup 2019, every member of the Bangladesh coaching set-up lost their job except this fielding coach. Did we become the best fielding side in the world?” Mashrafe added.
Mashrafe also questioned why the head coach Russell Domingo doesn't step up to defend the team like he does for the coaching staff. "Why don't Tamim, Mushfiq, Riyad stay well? Isn't it his (Domingo) job to address this?"
The Bangladesh team's coaching staff at present consists of three South Africans: Russell Domingo (head coach), Ashwell Prince (batting coach) and Ryan Cook (fielding coach). Bowling coach Ottis Gibson is a West Indian from Barbados, but his last job was also as coach of South Africa.
Gibson on Tuesday refused to be drawn into a direct response to Mashrafe.
Read: Mashrafe Mortaza drops a bombshell over his alleged T20 retirement in 2017
“That doesn’t interest or concern me, whatever anyone outside of our circle is saying. We can’t control what people are saying on social media,” Gibson told reporters on Tuesday when he was asked about Mashrafe’s comments.
“We can only control what is being said in and around the group. We know what we do as a coaching group here,” he added.
Bangladesh will take on England on Wednesday in their second Super 12s match. The Tigers have to win at least three matches in order to book a place in the Semi-finals stage of the World Cup for the first time.
T20 World Cup: West Indies concede 2nd consecutive defeat in Super 12s
Reigning champions West Indies conceded their second consecutive defeat in the competition after South Africa thrashed them by eight wickets in the Super 12s stage of the T20 World Cup on Tuesday.
For South Africa it was their first win in the competition after they lost their opening game against Australia.
The West Indies, sent in by South Africa to bat first, posted only 143 for eight wickets in 20 overs.
Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Bangladesh, England face off on October 27
Evin Lewis posted 56 off 35 balls with three fours and six sixes while his opening partner Lendl Simmons played 35 balls to score 16 runs. His slow batting caused unease for the fans.
For South Africa, Dwaine Pretorius bagged three wickets while Keshav Maharaj took two.
Read: T20 World Cup 2021: Afghanistan Win Big against Scotland as Mujeeb takes fifer
In reply, South Africa chased the target of 144 in 18.2 overs with eight wickets in hand. Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen remained unbeaten scoring 51 and 43 respectively.
In the first match, West Indies lost to England by six wickets, and South Africa suffered a defeat to Australia by five wickets.