Cricket Blog : My 12th Man

From Wankhede to Headingley : Rise of Mr. Incredible "Ben Stokes"

2020-07-24T23:11:00.000+05:30

In recent times, we have witnessed something unbelievable from Mr. Incredible of Cricket, Ben Stokes. From Wankhede to Headingley, Mr. Incredible Ben Stokes transformed himself into the greatest English All rounder of all time.

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Its all started at Wankhede in ICC T20 WC 2016

It was a big final vs T20 specialist team West Indies. West Indies need 19 runs off the final over. Ben Stokes to bowl the final over. Odds are in favor of England and they are truly on the verge to life their second T20 WC trophy. But, the big man of West Indies, Carlos Brathwaite had other idea. First 4 balls - 4 big sixes and its all over for England Cricket Team. Carlos Brathwaite on the celebration mode and Ben Stokes was on the knees. No doubt, its painful and not easy to forget. The pain to loose the final and moreover to loose this way was even more painful.

England skipper Morgan giving consolation to teammate Ben Stokes after he was smashed for 4 sixes off 4 balls in the final of ICC T20 World Cup 2016.
Image Source - Google | Image by - AFP

Someone truly said, "Time heals everything". Lets see how the looser Ben Stokes transformed himself into the biggest asset to the England Cricket Team :

Performed well in patches but needed to score big

Stokes first assignment after the demoralizing final was against Sri Lanka in the test series. Scored only 12 runs and took 1 wicket. Adding to the miseries, he picked up an injury, resulting ruled out of rest of the series.

He came back for the test series against Pakistan but his bad fortunes seemed to be stuck with some more time. After scoring 34 runs, he took up another injury and ruled out for rest of the series. Stokes returned for the ODI series and scored 2 half centuries in the last to ODI to give some glimpse of hope of returning to form.

Finally, Stokes announced his arrival against Bangladesh by scoring 101 in the first match. He also scored made 85 runs and took 6 wickets in the first test and won the Man of the Match award.

Stokes needed to put his hands up before the Champions Trophy. He scored a test century against quality Indian bowlers and performed decent in that tour. Stokes was giving his absolute best but may be the right time was way too ahead. Leaving all memories behind, Stokes headed towards all important ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

He didn't disappointed. After performing decent in first two games, Ben Stokes scored a fine unbeaten 102* vs Australia. Although, an unexpected collapse in the semi final against unpredictable Pakistan, England's 2017 Champions Trophy journey ended in a bad way. He was also named in the "Team of the Tournament" of ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

England all rounder Ben Stokes after completing his century vs Australia in a group stage matche in ICC Champions Trophy 2017. He scored match winning 102* runs.
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Post Champions Trophy, Stokes scored 299 runs and took 7 wickets in a 4-Test series vs South Africa. He also scored 228 runs and took 9 wickets in the 3-match series vs West Indies. He was named in World Best Test XI and ODI XI in 2017 and in the ODI XI in 2018.

Career changing ICC World Cup 2019

ICC World Cup 2019 came as career changing event for the Mr. Incredible, Ben Stokes. In the very first match against South Africa, Ben Stokes announced his arrival at the World Cup. He made 89 runs off 79 balls. He also took 2 wickets, he run out one batsman and took 2 catches. He took a screamer and that probably in the list of the "One of the best catches of all time". He bag Man of the Match award. He didn't looked back from there. He scored many fine knocks in the group stages including 82* vs Sri Lanka, 89 vs Australia and 79 vs India.

Ben Stokes with the ICC World Cup 2019 trophy. He showed his extraordinary skills throughout the tournament with great display of batting, bowling and fielding.
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Then came the Big Final vs New Zealand, when all England batters struggled against New Zealand bowlers, Stokes stood up to the occasion, scored 84* and forced the Final to Super Over. He scored 8 runs off 3 balls in the Super Over which also resulted in a Tie but England won the match by boundary count. Yes, Its Ben Stokes who awarded England the World Cup.

The Ashes 2019

And comes The Ashes 2019. England lost the first test and second test ended in draw. England need a win or to draw to keep The Ashes. England started the 3rd test on positive note, Australia just scored 179 runs in their first inning. All England needed to build some partnership and to gain healthy lead. But, Australia pacers had different ideas, England managed just 67 runs in their first inning. Australia scored 246 runs in their second inning and set a record 359 runs target to England.

England lost their openers on the score of 15. Trailing 15/2 and chasing huge 359 runs and pressure of saving The Ashes was on the line. Skipper Joe Root and Joe Denly played sensibly and managed to build 126 runs partnership for the 3rd wicket. Joe Denly scored 50 runs 155 balls before getting out off pacer Josh Hazlewood. Then comes the Ben Stokes. He left and block whatever Australia thrown at him. But when they lost Joe Root (77 runs off 205 balls), England were almost out of the game and The Ashes 2019. Jonny Bairstow managed to got some runs but too many shots costed his wicket. England collapsed from 245/4 to 286/9. Now, its all upto the big fellow, Ben Stokes. He smashed Australia bowlers all around the park. In the process, Stokes got to his century but England needed him to finish the game for his country.

Ben Stokes played one of the best test inning of all time.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Reuters

Stokes changed his gear and suddenly we saw some serious hitting from the English all-rounder. He finishes the game with a boundary and put The Ashes 2019 to 1-1 with 2 games to go. He played probably the best test inning of all time. He scored 135* including 11 fours and 8 sixes. Although, Australia regained the Urn with 2-2 draw but this Ashes will be remembered by that inning of Mr. Incredible, Ben Stokes.

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God of Cricket : "Sachin Tendulkar"

2020-05-24T00:04:00.001+05:30

"Saccchiinnnn Saccchinnnn....", the much loved voice in every Cricket Stadium across the country was shut down in 2013 in Wankhede Stadium when the greatest player of the game took retirement from Cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar on the shoulders of Indian players after winning the World Cup 2011 by beating Sri Lanka.
Image Source - Google | Image By - HARSHA

We have often heard that " If Cricket is a religion in India then Sachin is God." He just not only played Cricket for 24 years but earned so much respect and regards from each and every individual. His journey is always delight to know and lets see from where it was started.

Initial stage

Its all started way back in 1988 in the Cricket Club of India where those who are below the age of 18 are not allowed to enter in this club. But the famous club had to change their rule to allow a young boy of 15 years to enter in the club. This was the first stepping stone for Sachin Tendulkar. As soon as this short young boy came into the field with his bat in hand, everyone left shocked. Who among those knew, this boy is going to represent the national team in next year and become the best batsman of all time.

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Early days in International Cricket

It was 1989, the time which every cricketer is living for, had arrived for Sachin Tendulkar when he was selected for the Indian tour of Pakistan. Sachin made his Test debut in Karachi Cricket Stadium. Pakistan made 409 in the first inning. India were 41/4, when Sachin Tendulkar arrived at the crease. History was made when a short young boy having curly hair was up there in front of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Imran Khan and Abdul Qadir. Legendary Pakistan pace, Wasim Akram opened up some conversation between him and Sachim Tendulkar. He said, " We had read about Sachin...that there's a sensation coming of age 16 years. But when he came, he looked like a 14 year boy and I told him "Mummy se puchke aaya hai? (Did you ask your mother before coming?)".

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Although Sachin scored just 15 runs in that inning and in an conversation with Former England Captain Nasser Hussain, Sachin admitted that he was clueless in his test debut. " I was clueless, I have to admit that. I played the first test as if I was playing a school match. Wasim and Waqar were bowling quick, and they were delivering short balls and all sorts of intimidating things they could do. I had never experienced anything like that, so first outing wasn't pleasant one", Sachin said. He further said that," Occasionally, I got beaten by their pace and bounce and when I got out on 15, I felt embarrassed when I walked back to the dressing room. I was like 'what have you done, why did you play like this' and then when I reached the dressing room, I went straight to bathroom and I was almost in tears". Sachin ended up scoring 259 runs in 4 test matches including 2 eye catching half centuries.

Sachin didn't had great ODI debut as he received second ball duck. He was dismissed by Waqar Younis. He was dropped from the next match. India lost the series 0-2. But, this tour will be remembered only for that man, Sachin Tendulkar.

Sachin Tendulkar acknowledges the crowd after reaching his century vs Australia at the fast pitch of WACA, Perth.
Image Source - Google | Image By - Clayton Murzello

India to tour New Zealand and Sachin received another 2-ball duck after making 36 runs in the next ODI. In 1990, India to tour England and the golden moment arrived for Sachin Tendulkar when he became the second youngest to score test century. Sachin Tendulkar cemented his place in the national team when he scored 2 centuries in the Australia Tour and caught everyone's attention before the ICC World Cup 1992.

The name, Sachin Tendulkar was there in every opposition. He emerged as the batting sensation in cricket world.

Tendulkar's World Cup Legacy

Sachin Tendulkar with "Golden Bat" award after the final vs Champion Australia in World Cup 2003.
Image Source - Google | Image By- Press Trust of India

Sachin Tendulkar represented India in 6 ICC Cricket World Cup, the most by any player in the history of the game. In such big tournaments where there is a lot of burden of expectations, Tendulkar made the most of it and bookmark his innings in everyone's mind. He played 44 innings and scored 2278 runs at an outstanding average of 56.95 including 6 hundred's and 15 half centuries. His strike rate in those matches is 88.98. Some of his best knocks in World Cup history :

137 vs Sri Lanka in World Cup 1996.

140 vs Kenya in World Cup 1999. (Tendulkar lost his father prior to this match)

98 vs Pakistan in World Cup 2003.

120 vs England in World Cup 2011.

85 vs Pakistan in World Cup 2011.

Sachin Tendulkar with ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 trophy.
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World Cup is Tendulkar's legacy. He finally lifted the World Cup in 2011 where India beat Sri Lanka in the final. Although, he didn't contributed in the final but he ended up team's top scorer in the World Cup 2011.

Best in both Test's and ODI's

With his success in many tour's, he became backbone of the team. He carried the burden of Indian team in his shoulders and won many matches single handedly. He soon become a role model of new players which includes the likes of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.

In ODI's, he scored 18,426 runs in 463 matches with 49 centuries and 96 half centuries. The two knocks of 143 and 134 that he played vs Australia in Sharjah in 1998 is still considered as his best innings. He smashed Australian bowlers especially their legendary spinner Shane Warne, all around in Sharjah.

There is no doubt in a fact that Sachin Tendulkar made his mark superbly in One Day Internationals. But, he is not far behind when compared to Test Cricket. His numbers in Test Cricket speaks for him. He played the most, 200 test matches in the history of cricket. In those 200 test matches, Sachin scored record 15,921 runs with 51 hundreds and 68 fifties at an marvelous average of 53.78.

Sachin Tendulkar was raised by Yuvraj Singh after winning the Chennai Test vs England in 2008. This win is very emotional as it came after the terror attack in Mumbai (26/11).
Image Source - Google | Image By - Krish Sachinist

Some of his best knocks in Test Matches :

119 vs England in Old Trafford, 1990

114 vs Australia in Perth, 1992

169 vs South Africa in Cape Town, 1997

155 vs Australia in Chennai, 1999

241* vs Australia in Sydney, 2004

103* vs England in Chennai, 2008

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar celebrating after reaching the 200 mark, the first in ODI's, against South Africa at Gwalior
Image Source - Google | Image By - By Arunabha Sengupta

Golden moment came in 2010 when Sachin Tendulkar goes on to break the 200 run mark in the ODI's, the first one to do so.

Sachin Tendulkar celebrating his 100th international century. He reached the milestone in a game against Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2012.
Image Source - Google | Image By - Ajay Singh

In 2012, Sachin Tendulkar reached the magical milestone after scoring his 100th international hundred vs Bangladesh in Asia Cup. The sense of satisfaction can be easily seen in Tendulkar's face as he made his fans wait a bit longer to score his 100th international ton.

Emotional Retirement

As they say " If Cricket is a religion in India then Sachin is God." In 2013, their God is all set to take retirement from International Cricket and the home series against West Indies would be his last series. Prior to that, he already taken retirement from One Day International's in 2012 in Asia Cup. He played his last ODI match vs Pakistan. India won that match. Sachin Tendulkar scored 52 runs in his last ODI inning.

Sachin Tendulkar acknowledged full packed crowd at Wankhede. He got out after scoring 74 in his last test inning.
Image Source - Google | Image By - BCCI Photo

But stage is all set in Wankhede Stadium, as the local boy, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar will play his last international match. Emotions all around stadium and all they want was to see their best cricketer to score a century in his last test. When Tendulkar crossed 50 run mark, people acknowledged and had the belief that a century is all set to come from Master Blaster. The Wankhede Stadium silenced when Sachin got out on 74. Tears all around at Wankhede. Emotional Sachin was leaving the ground for the last time.

Tendulkar made it to the Bharat Ratna

Sachin Tendulkar receiving Highest Civilian Award, Bharat Ratna from President of India.
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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "BANGLADESH"

2020-05-05T23:01:00.000+05:30

Bangladesh Cricket Team shocked the cricket world by their cricket in the mid of 2000. Their first major success came in World Cup 1999, where they defeated Pakistan in the group stage. But they came into focus in 2005 when they beat Australia in the Natwest Series. People in Bangladesh then started to believe in their team. They broke everyone heart when they beat India in World Cup 2007 group stage. Slowly and steadily Bangladesh emerged as one of the underdog of cricket. 2015 proved golden year for them as they defeated India and South Africa in bilateral series at home and also kicked out England from the World Cup 2015. In 2016, the victory against England in test match at home proved vital for their confidence.

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

Bangladesh started well in 2016 as they defeated Sri Lanka in the group stage of Asia Cup resulting reached the Final of the Asian event. They eventually lost the Final to India but as people expected, they gave tough fight in Asia Cup. Their confidence was high as they heading into the Stage 1 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 where they were placed with Netherlands, Ireland and Oman. Bangladesh topped their group and proceeded in the next stage where they were placed in Group B along with Australia, India, New Zealand and Pakistan. Lets see how their journey progressed in the ICC T20 World Cup 2016.

1st match vs Pakistan at Eden Gardens

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Cricket Correspondent and Agencies

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first in their opening game at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan and Ahmed Shehzad gave Pakistan a good start. Although Pakistan lost Sharjeel Khan 18(10) in the 3^rd over but Ahmed Shehzad and Md Hafeez played with attacking mind set and scored 55 runs in the powerplay. Both these batsman scored their respective half centuries. Ahmed Shehzad 52(39) and Md Hafeez 64(42) gave lower batsman a chance to explore in the later part of the innings. They both fell between 3 overs. Its time for the Boom Boom show as their skipper Shahid Afridi scored 49 runs off just 19 balls with 4 fours and as many sixes and took the total past 200. Pakistan scored 201/5 in 20 overs.

The task is big for Bangladesh and it seemed like mountain when they lost Soumya Sarkar off the 3^rd ball. Shahid Afridi removed Sabbir Rehman 25(19) in the 6^th over to left Bangladesh trailing badly in the chase. Bangladesh scored 45/2 in the powerplay. They lost wickets regularly post powerplay. Tamim Iqbal 24(20), Mahmudullah 4(5) and Mushfiqur Rahim 18(21) fall cheaply and left alone Shakib Al Hasan to chase 202 runs. Shakib Al Hasan scored unbeaten 50 runs off 40 ball. Pakistana won the game comfortably by 55 runs. Boom Boom Afridi awarded Man of the Match for his 19 ball 49 and 2/27. Bangladesh didn't get the start they wanted.

2nd match vs Australia at Bangalore

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Bangladesh faced Australia in their next match. Australia won the toss and elected to field. Bangladesh didn't started off well and lost S Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman inside powerplay. Bangladesh scored 33/2 in their first 6 overs. Md Mithun(23) and Shakib Al Hasan(33) gave some contribution to steady Bangladesh's inning. But Bangladesh kept loosing wicket at regular interval and the scorecard says 105/5 in 15.2 overs. But all time reliable Mahmudullah quickfire runs in the last 5 overs gave Bangladesh something to defend. Mahmudullah score 49*(29). Bangladesh ended up scoring 156/5 in their 20 overs. Once again Khawaja provided Australia a good start. Along with Shane Watson, Khawaja scored 51 runs in powerplay without loosing any wicket. Australian batting line looked nervous and wickets were tumbling one after other. Steve Smith(14) and David Warner(17) got out cheaply. U Khawaja held one end and scored important 58 runs before getting out. Glenn Maxwell's short stay at the crease proved vital. He attacked Bangladesh's bowler and scored 26 runs off 15 balls. Australia somehow won the match by 3 wicket. Adam Zampa was adjusted Man of the Match for his spell of 4-0-23-3. Two below par performance by this Bangladesh side.

3rd match vs India in Bangalore

Indian skipper MS Dhoni ran out the Bangladeshi's batsman in the last ball to hand India an unlikely victory.
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Its another Asian team contest. One can never take Bangladesh Team lightly as we all know, on their day they can upset any team. And they proved the Indian Team in this match.
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl. Both Indian openers was under pressure because of their two successive failures. They played sensibly in powerplay but Rohit Sharma(18) ended up losing his wicket on the last ball of powerplay. India were 42/1 in 6 overs. Shikhar Dhawan(23) followed him in the next over. Virat Kohli(24) and Suresh Raina(30) kept the scoreboard ticking and didn't took any risk and made sure India not loose any wicket in the next 6 overs. This strategy backfired them. In the process, Kohli went first, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya(15) and Yuvraj Singh(3) fell in quick succession and India had a mini collapse from 95/2 to 117/6. India scored all important runs in the last 3 overs and finished to 146/7 in 20 overs. Bangladesh maintained the required rate and scored 45 runs in first 6 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. This match was equally balanced till that point. Tamim Iqbal(35) fell and Shakib Al Hasan joined Sabbir and scored some quick runs. Its going Bangladeshi's way. Indian bowlers strike back and got rid of Sabbir Rehman, Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan. Its down to 17 runs of 12 balls. But Jasprit Bumrah gave just 6 runs to gave Hardik Pandya 11 runs to defend in the last over. Fist ball : single. Mushfiqur Rahim then scored back to back boundaries to give some panic in Indian camp. Its down to 2 runs from 3 balls. Its Bangladesh game to loose now. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah fell on successive deliveries in order to hit the ball out of the park and caught at deep mid wicket. Its 1 run required off 1 ball. Lots of discussion among Hardik Pandya, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli and Captain Dhoni. Here goes Pandya and bowls a wide slower bouncer, the bastman misses and run blindly. Dhoni ran fast and wipped off the bail in time to give India one of the narrowest win and that by just 1 run. Disappointed faces in Bangladesh camp as they once again gave away match to India and now they were out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016. This match will be remembered by each and every cricket fan.

4th Match vs New Zealand at Kolkata

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New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. New Zealand already qualified for the Semis and Bangladesh were out of the competition. New Zealand gave rest to Martin Guptill and tried H Nicholls at the top. But it didn't worked as Nicholls was out after scoring 7 runs off 11 balls. Bangladeshi's bowlers didn't allowed New Zealand openers to score free runs and kept the tight line. Hence, New Zealand scored just 39/1 in the powerplay. They lost their skipper Kane Williamson 42(32) off the last ball of 9th over. Taylor 28(24) and Collin Munro 35(33) somehow kept the scoreboard ticking but all credit goes to Bangladesh bowlers to kept New Zealand batsman at bay. New Zealand were 99/3 at the end off 15 overs.Rest of the batsman struggled and New Zealand finished with 145/8 on the board. Mustafizur Rahman was pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh. He took a 5-fer and finished with brillant bowling performance,4-0-22-5. Bangladesh batsman did't step up on Mustafizur performance. Both the opening batsman gone inside powerplay to put pressure on middle order. They were 30/2 after 6 overs and with the kind of form New Zealand bowlers had, Bangladesh would have to bat of to their skin to have any chance of victory. Bangladesh collapsed and with the help of Grant Elliott(3/12) and Ish Sodhi (3/21), New Zealand bowled out Bangladeshi's Tiger for just 70 runs to won the match comfortably by 75 runs. Skipper Kane Williamson awarded Man of the Match. So, New Zealand to go to Semis with high confidence by winning all league matches where as Bangladesh returned home after loosing all their Group stage matchs. This was very disappointing performance by Bangladesh team.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

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Bangladesh is no longer considered as the associate nation. After their performance in ICC World Cup 2019, they advanced themselves into other level. The way they chased record target to beat West Indies is appreciated by everyone. They have mixed combination of senior and young bloods. Whether its batting or bowling department, Bangladesh came with a perfect combination. Their problem is consistency. They were not good enough when they want everyone to step up. Lets see how the team will look like for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia. At the top they have Veteran Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar. In the middle order they have experienced M Rahim and Mahmudullah. They have 2 bowling all rounder Mahedi Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin. Bowling department will be leaded by Mustafizur Rahman. He will be supported by Al-Amim Hossain and Hasan Mahmud. Are you missing a big name in the squad? Shakib Al Hasan will not be there with the team for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia as he is banned from all cricket for two years by ICC as he failed to report on an approach from a bookie during multiple occasions. It’s a big loss to Bangladesh as Shakib Al Hasan was one of the top run scorer in ICC World Cup 2019. In the absence of the irreplaceable Shakib Al Hasan, batsman like Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar need to take extra responsibility. Bangladesh still looks like a competitive team.

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "AFGHANISTAN"

2020-05-04T22:41:00.000+05:30

In the 2000's, we have seen how Bangladesh cricket team emerged as one of the under dogs and caused big upset. In recent years, another Asian team emerged and booked their place in Cricket world. Yes, its Afghanistan cricket team. With the help of some senior players like Skipper Asghar Afghan, All rounder Mohammad Nabi and world class Spinner Rashid Khan, Afghanistan announced their arrival and now placed themselves comfortably in the cricket world. Where teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh failed to qualify directly for the ICC T20 World Cup, Afghanistan is already in the T20 World Cup 2020 along with the teams like England, India and South Africa.

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

Afghanistan didn't get the direct ticket for T20 World Cup 2016. They placed in Group B, along with Zimbabwe, Scotland and Hong Kong. Afghanistan need to top the group to advance to next stage. On paper, Zimbabwe looked like the only team to give tough time to Afghanistan but in T20 format, any team can cause upset on their day. Afghanistan took every game very seriously resulting winning their all 3 games. The table topper Afghanistan advanced to the next stage and will face England, West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

1st match vs Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens

Man of the Match and Veteran Sri Lankan Batsman (left) with skipper Angelo Mathews after their victory in the opening match against Afghanistan
Image Source - Google | Image by - PTI

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews struck in the 3^rd over to get rid of dangerous Mohammad Shahzad. Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan joined Noor Ali and played some sensible cricket resulting scoring only 36 runs in the 6 overs. Post powerplay Afghanistan tried to improve their run rate but in the process lost 3 wickets in 3 overs. Noor Ali 20(23), Karim Sadiq 0(7) and Veteran Mohammad Nabi 3(4) were the victims. Then S Shinwari joined this skipper an played with attacking mindset. He scored 31 runs in just 14 balls. Skipper Asghar Afghan scored 62 runs in 47 balls. None of the other batsman contributed to their team score. Resulting, Afghanistan scored 153/7 in 20 overs. T Perera and R Herath took 3 and 2 wickets respectively. Sri Lanka started their chase positively and their openers Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal gave them good start. Dinesh Chandimal 18(17) fall in the last over of powerplay. Sri Lanka scored 41/1 in 6 overs. Match was perfectively set up for fight. Their best spinner Rashid Khan removed Thirimanne to gave his teams some hope. Rashid Khan along with M Nabi bowled in tight areas and not allowed Sri Lankan batters to score free runs. Tight bowling resulting in 2 run outs. T Perera 12(8) and Kapugedera 10(9) left the chase to Dilshan and skipper A Mathews. Angelo Mathews played his shots from the word go. He scored 21*(10). Other end is perfectly help up by Veteran T Dilshan. He scored 83* off 56 balls. As a result Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets with 7 balls in hand. Afghanistan fought really well but Sri Lanka were the better side. T Dilshan won the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 83 runs. Afghanistan didn't started their T20 World Cup 2016 journey well.

2nd match vs South Africa at Wankhede

Chris Morris celebrates after got the better of Afghanistan opener Md Shahzad, who scored 44 runs off just 19 balls.
Image Source - Google | Image by - PTI

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat. They lost Hashim Amla 5(5) in the 3rd over but Q de Kock 45(31) and skipper Du Plessis 41(27) scored freely in the powerplay and helped South Africa to score 66 runs in 6 overs with loss of 1 wicket. Stage is all set to explore but they lost their wicket one after another. South Africa down to 98/3 in 12 overs. When Afghanistan bowlers was about to dominate South African batsman, they were smashed by AB de Villiers. He took on their best bowler Rashin Khan and scored 29 runs in 1 over. This is the joint 2nd highest number of runs scored in a T20 World Cup match. AB de Villiers scored his half century and scored 64 runs off 29 balls before getting out in 18th over. Two left handers, JP Duminy 29*(20) and David Miller 19(8) helped South Africa crossed 200 marks for the second time in as many matches. South Africa finished with 209/5 in 20 overs.

Afghanistan opening batsman Mohammad Shahzad gave Afghanistan a flying start and smashed South African bowlers all around in Wankhede. That was the display of some fearless batting from this attacking batsman. He scored quickfire 44 runs off just 19 balls. Rest of the bastman scored a lot of 20's but none of them converted it into a match winning inning. As a result, South Africa won the match comfortably by 37 runs. Chris Morris adjusted the Man of the Match for his 4-0-27-4. Its the second consecutive loss for Afghanistan in as many matches and they were on the verge of elimination.

3rd match vs England at Feroz Shah Kotla

Afghanistan players with England players after the game at Delhi.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Davis James

England won the toss and elected to bat. England top order struggled on the slow pitch of Kotla, Delhi. They lost their top 4 inside the powerplay and scored just 42 runs. Roy, Vince, Morgan and Root fall cheaply. Their fortunes didn't changed after powerplay as they lost Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in quick succession. England were trailing at 57/6 in the 10th over. Afghanistan on the verge of a big upset. But England's lower order had different plans. Moeen Ali scored unbeaten 41 runs off 33 balls. Ali was well supported by Jordan (15) and Willey (20). England finished with 142/7 and can sense fightback from his bowlers. Afghanistan's chase wasn't started off well as they lost 3 wickets in first 3 overs and from there onwards, Afghanistan was never near to the chase. Most off their batsman got the start but didn't capitalize on that as a result they scored just 127/9 in 20 overs, falling short by 15 runs. Moeen Ali was awarded the Man of the Match for his much needed 41* and 1 wicket. So, England survived and escaped themselves from huge upset from Afghanistan. Afghanistan was themselves to blame as they have had best chance of winning this game. Afghanistan are eliminated from ICC T20 World Cup 2016.

4th match vs Afghanistan at Nagpur

Afghanistan players doing Champion dance after beating Champion side in their last match of ICC T20 World Cup 2016.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Agence France-Persse

West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl for the 4^th time in a row. And their inform bowlers didn’t disappointed their skipper decision. Golden arm S Badree struck twice in the powerplay and left Afghanistan trailing at 33/2 in 6 overs. It looked like another low scoring contest was on the cards. Afghanistan lost wickets at regular interval and their batsman never got going in front of West Indies bowlers. Apart from Najibullah Zadran, who scored 48*(40), none other batsman stepped up and showed some character. As a result of this, Afghanistan scored 123/7 in 20 overs. West Indies batsman came to batting with full of confidence but didn’t got good start. Debutant E Lewis got out for duck and from there only their batsman got under pressure. Like Afghanistan, they didn’t got any partnership. J Charles (22), Dinesh Ramdin (18) and DJ Bravo (28) got some start but didn’t capitalize onto that. Equation brought down to 25 runs off 12 balls. C Brathwaite smashed 2 sixes off the penultimate over. Total 15 runs scored in 19^th over to left with10 runs off final over. Their senior most, Md Nabi to defend 10 runs. He didn’t conceded any run on first 2 balls, on the 3^rd one, Brathwaite lofted the ball high into the sky but Najibullah Zadran took a screamer and its all Afghanistan match to loose after that. 9 runs off 3 balls, its never easy when your number 9 is on strike. West Indies fall short by 6 runs and Afghanistan somehow managed to upset the World Champions. Najibullah Zadran for his 48*(40) and the match winning catch to dismissed C Brathwaite, was adjusted Man of the Match. Afghanistan ended their journey of ICC T20 World Cup 2016 on a winning note.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

Image Source - Google | Image by - cricket.com.au

Slowly and steadily, Afghanistan placed themselves very well in international cricket. Their achievement speaks for themselves as they are among the teams who qualified directly for the T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia, ahead of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. They did well in patches. Their next target is to produce big results. They did gave away many matches from their grasp like they did in ICC World Cup 2019 vs India and Pakistan. They almost beat their Asian counterpart before gave away the match easily. There is no doubt about their abilities but all they need to work on their pressure handling situation. Lets see how they shaping themselves for the Mega event in Australia. At the top they have Mohammad Shahzad, who on his day can cause big damage to opposition. Along with Shahzad, they have Hazratullah Zarai and R Gurbaz. Their middle order contains their some good players, with the likes of skipper Asghar Afghan, S Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran, in it. They also have some dependable players in the form of Veteran Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib and best spinner Rashid Khan. They have one of the best and young Mujeeb ur Rahman. By seeing at the squad, one can clearly say that their strength is bowling and with the strategy of bat first, scoring 240 odd runs and then defend it, they won many games in the past. But they need to work on their batting department to have some kind of impact in big tournament.

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "SRI LANKA"

2020-05-02T23:54:00.005+05:30

Sri Lanka always play decent cricket when it comes to ICC tournaments. They had some good memories with them in the World Cup’s since 1996 when they lift their maiden World Cup title. They reached Semi Final in World Cup 2003 and finished as runner up in World Cup 2007. In 2010 T20 World Cup, they reached semi final. Then came the ICC World Cup 2011, where they left heartbroken after loosing the final vs India. They were again beaten in the final by West Indies in the T20 World Cup 2012. Finally they won the T20 World Cup 2014 where they defeated India. Moreover, this win was for their two legends, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane, who retired from T20 format after the mega event. After ICC World Cup 2015, they also took retirement from ODI’s. West Indies struggled after the retirement of their legends, same way New Zealand and Australia struggled. Sri Lanka faced the same problem, they struggled and its fair to say that they struggled badly as they didn’t had the players who fulfill the places of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane.

Sri Lanka Cricket Team celebrating their maiden T20 World Cup title. They defeated India in ICC T20 World Cup 2014.
Image Source - Google | Image by - DIXIT BHARGAV

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

Its another ICC tournament, another T20 World Cup. In 2016, Sri Lanka were no longer a strong team. They did had some good players in their team with likes of Veteran T Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, L Thirimanne, C Kapugedera, Dinesh Chandimal, all rounder T Perera. They had some good bowlers with the likes of Nuwan Kulasekara and R Herath. They didn’t had a good start in 2016 as they lost couple of T20 bilateral series vs New Zealand and India. They even lost to Bangladesh in the Asia Cup resulting failed to qualify for final. So, a struggled Sri Lankan team entered in the tournament where they were to face with the likes of West Indies, England and South Africa. They knew they had to play out of their skin to have any chance to progress for the Semi Final. Lets see what happened to them in ICC T20 World Cup 2016.

1st match vs Afghanistan at Eden Gardens

Man of the Match and Veteran Sri Lankan Batsman (left) with skipper Angelo Mathews after their victory in the opening match against Afghanistan
Image Source - Google | Image by - PTI

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews struck in the 3^rd over to get rid of dangerous Mohammad Shahzad. Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan joined Noor Ali and played some sensible cricket resulting scoring only 36 runs in the 6 overs. Post powerplay Afghanistan tried to improve their run rate but in the process lost 3 wickets in 3 overs. Noor Ali 20(23), Karim Sadiq 0(7) and Veteran Mohammad Nabi 3(4) were the victims. Then S Shinwari joined this skipper an played with attacking mindset. He scored 31 runs in just 14 balls. Skipper Asghar Afghan scored 62 runs in 47 balls. None of the other batsman contributed to their team score. Resulting, Afghanistan scored 153/7 in 20 overs. T Perera and R Herath took 3 and 2 wickets respectively. Sri Lanka started their chase positively and their openers Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal gave them good start. Dinesh Chandimal 18(17) fall in the last over of powerplay. Sri Lanka scored 41/1 in 6 overs. Match was perfectively set up for fight. Their best spinner Rashid Khan removed Thirimanne to gave his teams some hope. Rashid Khan along with M Nabi bowled in tight areas and not allowed Sri Lankan batters to score free runs. Tight bowling resulting in 2 run outs. T Perera 12(8) and Kapugedera 10(9) left the chase to Dilshan and skipper A Mathews. Angelo Mathews played his shots from the word go. He scored 21*(10). Other end is perfectly help up by Veteran T Dilshan. He scored 83* off 56 balls. As a result Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets with 7 balls in hand. Afghanistan fought really well but Sri Lanka were the better side. T Dilshan won the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 83 runs. Sri Lanka off to a winning start in the T20 World Cup 2016.

2nd match vs West Indies at Bangalore

S Badree celebrating with wicket keeper Dinesh Ramdin. Badree finished with brilliant bowling figures with 3/12 in 4 overs.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Twenty20Wiki Web Desk

West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl. Sri Lankan openers looked scratchy and in the process of surviving, they lost their openers TM Dilshan(12) and Dinesh Chandimal(16) in the powerplay. Sri Lanka score 41 runs in the powerplay. Their fortunes didn’t changed after powerplay as they lost 3 more batsman before the 10^th over. S Badree took all these wickets to left Sri Lanka with 47/5 in the 9 th over. Skipper Angelo Mathews 20(32) and all rounder T Perera 40(29) took some Sri Lanka to a decent score of 122/9. S Badree (3/12), S Benn(0/13) and D Bravo(2/20) didn’t allowed Sri Lankan batsman to free their arm. West Indies started their chase by scoring 13 runs off A Mathews over. Its time for the pitch to play his role. Slowness of the pitch and some discipline bowling by Sri Lankan spinners didn’t allowed West Indies to score freely. Opener J Charles 10(13), M Samuels 3(12) and Dinesh Ramdin 5(13) struggled to get going. But they knew the target was modest and all they need to just stay at the crease. Man of the Match, A Fletcher 84*(64) and A Russell 20*(8) finished the game for West Indies.

3rd match vs England at Feroz Shah Kotla

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews left dejected after the loss against England. He left alone in the chase.
Image Source - Google | Image by - espncricinfo

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field. England lost Alex Hales (0) early in the inning but Jason Roy and Joe Root stabilized England's inning and scored decent 65/1 in first 10 overs. Kotla pitch was slow so it seems like England's plan was to explore in later part of inning. Joe Root 25(24) and Jason Roy 42(39) fall in quick succession before batted sensibly on slow pitch. England,unlike in previous game, kept wickets in hand and that paid off as Jos Buttler 66*(37) played blinder in later part of the inning. He was well supported by skipper Morgan (22). England finished at 171/4. Sri Lanka struggled right from the first over and their scorecard reads 15/4 in 3 overs, all thanks to some fine spell of David Willey. Captain Angelo Mathews didn't lost there, he along with Kapugedera (30) and Thisara Perera (20) did some fight and kept Sri Lanka in the chase. But death over specialist, Chris Jordan was too good for Sri Lankan lower order. He bowled with pace and accuracy and took 3 wicked in the later part of inning to left Captain Mathews a mountain to climb. Skipper Mathews's 73* runs off 54 balls was not good enough and Sri Lanka lost by 10 runs. Jos Buttler, for his 66*(37) was awarded Man of the Match. With that result, Sri Lanka were eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2016. On the other hand, England progressed to Semi Final.

4th Match vs South Africa at Kotla

AB de Villiers (left) and Hashim Amla with the Sri Lankan players after the match. Both team were out of the tournament before the start of play.

Image Source - Google | Image by - zeenews

Both, South Africa and Sri Lanka played this match just for their pride and to go back home with happy faces. South Africa won the toss and elected to field first. Sri Lankan openers Veteran TM Dilshan and skipper Dinesh Chandimal gave them a good start as they scored 45 runs in 4.4 overs. Aaron Phangiso first got Dinesh Chandimal 21(20) and Lahiru Thirimanne off consecutive balls and brought South Africa back into the match. Sri Lanka didn't recover from this blow. Dilshan 36(40) and T Siriwardana 15(10) put a decent partnership of 30 runs. Miscommunication costs Siriwardana's wicket. Sri Lanka falls like a nine pins after that. Only 4 batsman managed to reach double digit and they bundled out for 120. South Africa to chase a modest target but they lost Q de Kock (9) in the 2nd over. Skipper Faf du Plessis joined Hashim Amla and steadied South Africa inning. Suranga Lakmal removed du Plessis 31(36) in the 13th over when the score was 75. Hashim Amla socred a half century. AB de Villiers played his natural game and he looked to finish the game as early as process. South Africa managed to chased the target in the 18th over and South Africa won by 8 wickets and ended their ICC T20 World Cup 2016 campaign on a winning note. Hashim Amla scored unbeaten 56 runs and AB de Villiers scored 20*(12). Aaron Phangiso awarded Man of the Match for his (2/26). This was very ordinary performance by this Sri Lankan team in the ICC T20 World Cup 2016.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

Image Source - Google | Image by - cricket.com.au

The work is still in process for Sri Lanka Cricket. No doubt there is many young talent in the current Sri Lanka squad but the things which they missed in recent years are Execution and Consistency. They did well in patches but when it comes to ICC tournament, the only way to succeed is to play as a unit. So, lets discuss about their most probable squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2020. At the top they have their so called Sanath Jayasuriya, Kusal Perera. He showed many a times that he can be a big match winner for Sri Lanka. So, having a fearless player like him at the top, is a bonus to any team. He will be supported by the likes of young Avishka Fernando, Sehan Jayasuriya. Middle order will be leaded by their most experienced player and all rounder, Angelo Mathews. He was in and out from the team for many reasons. But Sri Lanka have to carry Angelo Mathews to Australia for the mega event as they need a player cum mentor to guide and handle young Sri Lanka squad. They also have Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka and W Hasaranga in the middle order. They also have all rounder Thisara Perera at the lower order. Bowling department will be leaded by their skipper Lasith Malinga and Isuru Udana. So, is this bunch of player are capable to win ICC T20 World Cup in Australia? Well, its not look like a promising squad to win the trophy. But yes if their senior players contributed and get support from young players, we can see some upsets in the tournament.

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "PAKISTAN"

2020-05-01T23:49:00.003+05:30

Its time to discuss about the “Unpredictable Pakistan”. Their last success came in 2017 where they beat rivals India in the final of Champions Trophy. Their performance changes every single bowl. Although they didn’t lift the T20 World Cup since their title winning year 2009. They reached semi final in 2010 and 2012. In 2010, they outclassed by the special inning from Mike Hussey and in 2014 they failed to chase modest total of 139 runs vs Sri Lanka. In 2014 they failed to reach semi final. So, one time champions, one time runner ups and 2 times semi finalist in the 5 T20 World Cup’s shows one can never take Pakistan lightly as they can cause high upsets in their day.

Image Source - Google | Image by - Sarang Bhalerao

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

Its ICC T20 World Cup 2016. They didn’t had great start of 2016 as they lost T20 series vs New Zealand followed by defeat vs Bangladesh in the Asia Cup resulted in failing to reach of the event. They was obviously low in confidence but when its comes to Pakistan, no can take them lightly. Lets see their journey of ICC T20 World Cup 2016.

1st match vs Bangladesh at Eden Gardens

Man of the Match and skipper of Pakistan team Shahid Afridi (right) with Md Hafeez.
Image Source - Google | Image by - MERCENIE TEAM

2nd match vs India at Eden Gardens

Another below par performance by Pakistan team vs India in ICC tournament.
Image Source - Google | Image by - espncricinfo

Its much awaited INDIA vs PAKISTAN contest. Indian Team came in the match with the embarrassing defeat to New Zealand and Pakistan won his first match vs Bangladesh. Is previous results really matter in this contest? Answer is a big NO. Their rivalry is one of the best in the world and since its a World Cup match, every member of each team want to contribute to their team. Also, Pakistan record vs India in World Cup's is still daunting them as Indian Team blanked them every time and then.

Match was delayed due to wet outfield to make the contest 18 overs. India won the toss and elected to bowl. Pakistan looked on the back foot from ball one. The strategy to save wickets for the last didn't proved right and current rate was never in their control. After 12 overs, Pakistan was trailing 60/3 and that's never gonna help them against the strong Indian batting line-up. Indian bowlers kept the tight line throughout 18 overs. As a result, Pakistan made just 118/5 in their 18 overs. They knew its a below par score against this Indian Team. But since its a India-Pakistan game, no team would give up easily. Once again Indian operners failed to give a good start to the team and both Rohit Sharma(10) and Sikhar Dhawan(6) fell cheaply. Suresh Raina followed Dhawan and out for a golden duck leaving India 23/3 inside 5 overs. There was glimpse of victory in the Pakistan camp but savior Virat Kolhi stood up to the occasion. He is vey well supported by Yuvraj Singh24(23) that proved vital as Pakistan bowlers attacking Indian batsman quike comfortably. Virat Kohli scored unbeaten 55* and won the match for Indian and was adjusted Man of the Match. Brilliant inning by Virat Kohli made it 11-0 in favor of India in World Cup's.

3rd Match vs New Zealand at Mohali

Image Source - Google | Image by - Kaustubh Mayekar

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim to seal a Semi Final spot and Pakistan to fight to extend their presence in ICC T20 World Cup 2016. New Zealand got off to a good start, all thanks to Veteran Martin Guptill. He smashed Pakistan bowlers all around the park. He along with skipper Kane Williamson, who scored scratchy 17(21), scored 55 runs in the powerplay. Md Irfan gave Pakistan the much needed breakthrough by taking the wicket of K Williamson. Collin Munro followed his skipper in the next over. Pakistan somehow managed to put brake on run rate but Martin Guptill 80(48) with the help of Corey Anderson 21(14) and Veteran Ross Taylor 36*(23), helped New Zealand to post 180 on the board. Sharjeel Khan 47(25) gave Pakistan a perfect start. He and S Ahmed 30(32) scored 66 runs in the powerplay to give Pakistan the much required momentum. All they just need to carry on from there but New Zealand bowlers strike back and got rid of S Ahmed and K Latif to put Pakistan under pressure. Skipper Shahid Afridi scored quickfire 19 runs off just 9 balls and from there onward New Zealand bowlers didn’t allowed Pakistan batsman to score free runs. Pakistan fall short of 22 runs and New Zealand sealed a spot for Semis. Martin Guptill, for his 80 runs knock, adjusted Man of the Match. This is ordinary performance by Pakistan and they are on verge of elimination after this match.

4th match vs Australia at Mohali

Dismal performance by Pakistan in ICC T20 World Cup 2016 and it ended with a defeat against Australia.
Image Source - Google | Image by - The Newspaper's Sports Reporter

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Australia while trying to score quickly, lost 3 early wickets. In form Khawaja(21), Aaron Finch(15) and out of form David Warner(9) got out cheaply. The one thing that Australia had was good run rate. They were 57/3 when Finch got out in 7.2 overs. Its now upto Reliable Smith and attacking Maxwell. They didn't disappointed. Skipper Smith score unbeaten 61*. Glenn Maxwell scored 30 runs off just 18 balls to let his skipper set for the big inning. Maxwell got out and Shane Watson,who devoted into the lower middle order, came. This move proved vital, he scored quick runs at the end. Steve Smith played unorthodox shot against pacer Wahab Riaz was eye catching. Smith and Waston 44*(21) took Australian total to 193/4 and gave Pakistan a mountain to climb. Pakistan's chase was not good enough as opener Ahmed Shehzad(1) fall cheaply. Sharjeel Khan(30), Khalid Latif(46) and Umar Akmal(32) got the start but none of them converted into a match winning knock. Skipper Shahid Afridi scored only 14 runs off 7 balls. Veteran Shoaib Malik somehow kept Pakistan team in the chase with 40*(20) but James Faulkner magic on the other end proved too hard to handle for other batsman. As a result, Australia survived another day in the T20 World Cup 2016 and won the match by 21 runs. James Faulkner was awarded for his 5 wicket hall. He ended up with the figure 4-0-27-5.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

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Most of the players who played 2016 is either retired or dropped. Shahid Afridi is retired, Sharjeel Khan and Umar Akmal is banned by PCB. Ahmed Shehzad and Sarfaraz Ahmed is dropped. Lets see how the current Pakistan team looks like and will be more or less the same side for the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia. Pakistan now is with their new captain and moreover with their best batsman, Babar Azam. The no 1 T20 batsman will have to contribute for his team to have any chances in the T20 World Cup 2020. They also have Veteran batting all rounders M Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. Other bastman in the line up will be Ahsan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, wicketkeeper bastman M Rizwan. They all have two spin bowling all rounders, Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan. Bowling department will be leaded by Md Amir along with Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Muhammad Hasnain. So, this looks like a decent squad having the combination of experience and young talent. But this team is not looking as good as England, Australia and India but you can never underestimate Pakistan team. And if you are taking them lightly, kindly recall ICC Champions Trophy 2017 where they defeated host England in the semis final and defeated India in the final to life their first ever Champions Trophy title.

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "SOUTH AFRICA"

2020-04-26T01:47:00.000+05:30

When you look down to any bilateral series, South Africa is the team to beat and is one of the competitive team of the game. But when it comes to ICC tournaments, they always disappoints their fans. And that's why they are labelled as "Chokers". Whether it was the famous ICC World Cup 1999 and 2007 Semi Final, inaugural ICC T20 World Cup 2007 match where they faced first loss vs India and were kicked out of the tournament, ICC World Cup 2011 Quaterfinal loss, ICC T20 World Cup 2014 and ICC World Cup 2015 Semi Final loss and many more, they always disappointed their fans. Its a newly packed players for the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 but before that lets have a look at their ICC T20 World Cup 2016 journey.

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

It was another ICC tournament. And South Africa, like always, had one of the best squad which includes the likes of Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, The best AB de Villiers, Faf Du Plessis, JP Duminy and David Miller. In the bowling department they had Dale Steyn, K Rabada, Imran Tahir, T20 specialist Chris Morris. So, on paper one can easily assumed that this team can lift the trophy. Moreover the form which they were before the tournament was fabulous. They won T20 series vs India in India, then won another T20 series vs England before loosing one to Australia. But, yes they had their chances in ICC T20 World Cup 2016. Lets see how long they survived in the tournament.

1st match vs England at Wankhede

England took victory from the jaws of South Africa at the batting track of Wankhede.
Image Source - Krishna Chopra

England won all important toss at Wankhede and elected to field first. Their decision backfired them badly as South African openers Hashim Amla 58(31) and Q De Kock 52(24) made the full use of batting powerplay and scored 83/0 in the powerplay. With the likes of AB de Villiers, JP Dumniy and David Miller yet to bat, England knew they need to play out to their skin to have some hope to win this match. Both openers along with AB de Villiers 16(8) fall inside 4 overs but it didn't effected their run rate. South Africa were 133/3 in 12 overs. England bowlers applied some brake on the run rate. Du Plessis struggled for his run a ball 17. But late fireworks from JP Duminy 54*(28) and David Miller 28*(12) helped South Africa to post 229/4 in 20 overs.

England needed something special here. A loss could have daunted their journey. But their batters had some other plans. Their openers scored 50 runs in just 2.5 balls, all thanks to Jason Roy who scored 43 runs off 16 balls. Jason Roy, Alex Hales 17(7) and Ben Stokes 15(9) lost their wickets inside 6 overs. But the chase was well set for England as they scored 89 runs in that 6 overs. Dependent Joe Root held up one end. Root looked well set for something special. He rotated the strike well and played some shots in between. On the other end, other batter came, played some shots and in the process lost their wickets. But with the help Root who scored sensational and memorable 83 runs off just 44 balls, England won the match with 2 balls spare. Joe Root adjusted Man of the Match. This defeat dent the moral of South Africa and they knew they have to work out the reason of this defeat and look back forward.

2nd match vs Afghanistan at Wankhede

Chris Morris celebrates after got the better of Afghanistan opener Md Shahzad, who scored 44 runs off just 19 balls.
Image SOurce - Google | Image by - PTI

After the shocking defeat vs England in their opening match, South Africa faced Afghanistan at the same Wankhede ground. South Africa won the toss and elected to bat. They lost Hashim Amla 5(5) in the 3rd over but Q de Kock 45(31) and skipper Du Plessis 41(27) scored freely in the powerplay and helped South Africa to score 66 runs in 6 overs with loss of 1 wicket. Stage is all set to explore but they lost their wicket one after another. South Africa down to 98/3 in 12 overs. When Afghanistan bowlers was about to dominate South African batsman, they were smashed by AB de Villiers. He took on their best bowler Rashin Khan and scored 29 runs in 1 over. This is the joint 2nd highest number of runs scored in a T20 World Cup match. AB de Villiers scored his half century and scored 64 runs off 29 balls before getting out in 18th over. Two left handers, JP Duminy 29*(20) and David Miller 19(8) helped South Africa crossed 200 marks for the second time in as many matches. South Africa finished with 209/5 in 20 overs.

3rd match vs West Indies at Nagpur

Miscommunication between South Africa opening batsman Hashin Amla (in picture) and Q de Kock costs the early wicket of Hashim Amla. South Africa never recovered from there.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Danielle Joynson

West Indies won the toss and they opted to field. South Africa off to a horror start, poor judgment and miscommunication between Q de Kock and Hashim Amla cost them the wicket of Hashim Amla. Problems for South Africa increased when reliable F du Plessis( 9) and Rossouw (0) followed Amla and left South Africa at 20/3 in 3 overs. AB de Villiers joied de Kock but Bravo brought his Champion dance after he bowls dangerous De Villiers (10) out by the slower one. David Miller(1) fall in the next over to C Gayle. Q de Kock (47) along with lower order batsman, D Wiese (28) and C Morris (16) stretched South Africa total to 122/8. Rabada gave South Africa early hope by getting C Gayle by unplayable delivery. Fletcher (11) followed Gayle. M Samuels joined J Charles and played sensible cricket. When it looked like they are taking the match away from South Africa, David Wiese struck back to get rid of Charles (32). DJ Bravo followed him in the next over. West Indies were 87/4 at the end of 14 over. They needed 36 runs of 36 balls to book a place in the semis. Twist came in the 17th over when Imran Tahir got rid of Andre Russell and skipper Darren Sammy of consecutive balls to give South Africa a lifeline to stay in the tournament.Marlon Samuel got out in the 19th over. K Rabada to defend 9 runs off last over but Carlos Brathwaite slammed a six off the 2nd ball and almost sealed the game there only. West Indies won the match comfortably with 2 balls to spare and booked their place in the semi final. On the other hand, South Africa was eventually out of the tournament. Their batting looked too strong in first two matches but they collapsed in a must win game. Same old story for South Africa in the ICC tournaments.

4th Match vs Sri Lanka at Kotla,Delhi

AB de Villiers (left) and Hashim Amla with the Sri Lankan players after the match. Both team were out of the tournament before the start of play.
Image Source - Google | Image by - zeenews

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

Image Source - Google | Image by - cricket.com.au

Since the retirement of their best batsman AB de Villiers, nothing going South Africa way. Hashim Amla is retired after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 where South Africa performed poorly winning just 3 matches out of 9. They are still searching for their best combination. Not only players were changed, they now have their new Captain Quinton de Kock, new Coach Mark Boucher and new Director Graeme Smith. Oh, another important question which is the most debatable issue, its the come back of the great batsman AB de Villiers. Coach Mark Boucher gave hints of his come back but nothing is from de Villiers. Time will tell about this. Lets keep de Villiers aside and look at their current bunch of players. At the top, they have their skipper Quinton de Kock along with Temba Bavuma or Reeza Hendricks. Middle order will have Faf du Plessis, R Van Der Dussen, H Klaasen, JP Duminy and David Miller. They have bunch of all rounders in the form of Andile Phehlukwayo, D Pretorius and Chris Morris. They too have good bowlers leaded by Veteran Dale Setyn, K Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. On the paper, these player can causes upset any day. And if they somehow get Ab de Villiers back then you might see the old spark in this South Africa team. Time will tell. ICC T20 World Cup 2020 is not far behind.

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "WEST INDIES"

2020-04-24T15:54:00.001+05:30

Its time to discuss about the T20 giants of cricket, its "WEST INDIES". There are teams like England, India and Australia who considered as the best cricketing nations all over the world. But, when it comes to T20, one team can give them nightmare is "WEST INDIES". The reason is very clear cut, with the likes of Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, DJ Bravo, L Simmons, Darren Sammy, K Pollard, M Samuels, S Badree and S Narine, one can never keep out of the game. They won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2012. Almost the same bunch of players traveled to India for the ICC T20 World Cup 2016. Lets see what happened in 2016.

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

West Indies won their maiden title in 2012, all thanks to their big match player Marlon Samuels. West Indies defended 137 runs against Sri Lanka in the final. But baring final, all other players stood up to the occasion and helped their team to reach the final of ICC T20 World Cup 2012. ICC T20 World Cup 2012 played in Sri Lanka and ICC T20 World Cup 2016 played in another aisan country, India. So, Is West Indies eyeing another T20 World Cup triumph in asian country. Lets see their journey in ICC T20 World Cup 2016.

1st match vs West Indies at Wankhede

England were slammed by Chris Gayle in their opening match at Wankhede.
Image Source - Google | Image by - itv

West Indies won the toss and opted to chase as Wankhede is well known as a chasing ground. Jason Roy(15) and Alex Hales(28) gave them a decent start. England were 49/1 in their first 6 overs. Although middle order batsman scored at good strike rate to kept the scorecard going in the all important opening match as winning start is always going to play crucial role in such big tournaments. Joe Root (48 runs off 36 balls), Jos Buttler(30 runs off 20 balls) and Skipper Eoin Morgan(27* runs off 14 balls) gave important contribution and England set a target of 183. Is this total safe against power packed batting of West Indies and Wankhede batting track? England’s David Willey gave them perfect start and got the better of J Charles. This was the last time England players got some joy in the 2nd inning. They were badly tore away by Gayle storm. The big left handed batsman hit England bowlers all around at Wankhede. The Man of the Match, The Universe Boss scored unbeaten 100 runs off 48 balls with 11 towering sixes and with that West Indies started their ICC World Cup 2016 campaign with moral boosting win.

2nd match vs Sri Lanka at Bangalore

A Fletcher scored unbeaten 84 runs off 64 balls to hel West Indies beat Sri Lanka at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalore
Image Source - Google | Image by - Shamya Dasgupta

West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl. Sri Lankan openers looked scratchy and in the process of surviving, they lost their openers TM Dilshan(12) and Dinesh Chandimal(16) in the powerplay. Sri Lanka score 41 runs in the powerplay. Their fortunes didn’t changed after powerplay as they lost 3 more batsman before the 10^th over. S Badree took all these wickets to left Sri Lanka with 47/5 in the 9 th over. Skipper Angelo Mathews 20(32) and all rounder T Perera 40(29) took some Sri Lanka to a decent score of 122/9. S Badree (3/12), S Benn(0/13) and D Bravo(2/20) didn’t allowed Sri Lankan batsman to free their arm. West Indies started their chase by scoring 13 runs off A Mathews over. Its time for the pitch to play his role. Slowness of the pitch and some discipline bowling by Sri Lankan spinners didn’t allowed West Indies to score freely. Opener J Charles 10(13), M Samuels 3(12) and Dinesh Ramdin 5(13) struggled to get going. But they knew the target was modest and all they need to just stay at the crease. Man of the Match, A Fletcher 84*(64) and A Russell 20*(8) finished the game for West Indies and they are now just one win away from sealing Semi FInal spot.

3rd match vs South Africa at Nagpur

West Indies make it 3 out of 3 to seal Semi Final birth.
Image Source - Google | Image by - PTI

West Indies luck with the toss continued and they again won the toss and they again opted to field. South Africa off to a horror start, poor judgment and miscommunication between Q de Kock and Hashim Amla cost them the wicket of Hashim Amla. Problems for South Africa increased when reliable F du Plessis( 9) and Rossouw (0) followed Amla and left South Africa at 20/3 in 3 overs. AB de Villiers joied de Kock but Bravo brought his Champion dance after he bowls dangerous De Villiers (10) out by the slower one. David Miller(1) fall in the next over to C Gayle. Q de Kock (47) along with lower order batsman, D Wiese (28) and C Morris (16) stretched South Africa total to 122/8. Rabada gave South Africa early hope by getting C Gayle by unplayable delivery. Fletcher (11) followed Gayle. M Samuels joined J Charles and played sensible cricket. When it looked like they are taking the match away from South Africa, David Wiese struck back to get rid of Charles (32). DJ Bravo followed him in the next over. West Indies were 87/4 at the end of 14 over. They needed 36 runs of 36 balls to book a place in the semis. Twist came in the 17^th over when Imran Tahir got rid of Andre Russell and skipper Darren Sammy off the consecutive balls to give South Africa some hope to stay in the tournament. M Samuels got out in the 19^th over. Rabada to defend 9 runs off the last over but C Brathwaite slammed 6 off the 2^nd ball and almost finishedthe game there only. As a result of it, West Indies won the match comfortably with 2 balls to spare and booked their seat for the semi final.

4th match vs Afghanistan at Nagpur

Afghanistan players doing Champion dance after beating Champion side in their last match of ICC T20 World Cup 2016.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Agence France-Persse

West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl for the 4^th time in a row. And their inform bowlers didn’t disappointed their skipper decision. Golden arm S Badree struck twice in the powerplay and left Afghanistan trailing at 33/2 in 6 overs. It looked like another low scoring contest was on the cards. Afghanistan lost wickets at regular interval and their batsman never got going in front of West Indies bowlers. Apart from Najibullah Zadran, who scored 48*(40), none other batsman stepped up and showed some character. As a result of this, Afghanistan scored 123/7 in 20 overs. West Indies batsman came to batting with full of confidence but didn’t got good start. Debutant E Lewis got out for duck and from there only their batsman got under pressure. Like Afghanistan, they didn’t got any partnership. J Charles (22), Dinesh Ramdin (18) and DJ Bravo (28) got some start but didn’t capitalize onto that. Equation brought down to 25 runs off 12 balls. C Brathwaite smashed 2 sixes off the penultimate over. Total 15 runs scored in 19^th over to left with10 runs off final over. Their senior most, Md Nabi to defend 10 runs. He didn’t conceded any run on first 2 balls, on the 3^rd one, Brathwaite lofted the ball high into the sky but Najibullah Zadran took a screamer and its all Afghanistan match to loose after that. 9 runs off 3 balls, its never easy when your number 9 is on strike. West Indies fall short by 6 runs and Afghanistan somehow managed to upset the World Champions. Najibullah Zadran for his 48*(40) and the match winning catch to dismissed C Brathwaite, was adjusted Man of the Match.

Semi-Final vs India at Wankhede

Andree Russell celebrates after hitting the winning six off Virat Kohli to advance his team to Final.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Tim Wigmore

Its India vs WI semi-final. On the paper, West Indies never disappoints their fans with some big power hitters in their rank. But host India was not far behind and with form Virat Kohli was there, no one could stop India to reach final.West Indies won the toss in the pressure game and send India to bat. India,unlike other games, got off to a good start. Rohit Sharma(43) and A Rahane(40) gave India the perfect platform to explore in the final overs. India reached 100 in 12.2 overs. Again its one man for India, Virat Kohli took charge and smashed West Indies bowler on the batting pitch of Wankhede. Kohli goes onto scored 89* off 47 balls to get India to a big total 192. But is there is any total called as "Big" against the likes of Gayle, Russell, Bravo and other hitters.Jasprit Bumrah knocked dangerous Chris Gayle(5) in his very first deliveries and Ashish Nehra removed big-match player Marlon Samuels(8) in the next over to leave West Indies struggling at 19/2 in 3 overs. Then the moment arrived. Both Charles 52(36) and Simmons 82*(51) got West Indies steady and not only kept wickets but also hammered Indian bowlers all around in Wankhede. Virat Kohli came to bowl and removed Charles straightaway. But Mr. Russell, the deadly hitters arrived. He was ruthless and scored 43*(20) including 4 towering 6's and won the match for West Indies by hitting a high 6 off Virat Kohli. The story would be different if Ashwin and Pandya didn't oversteps. Their no-balls gave two life line to Simmons. The lucky Simmons was adjusted Man of the Match. So, after this cracking match, ICC T20 World Cup 2016 now have their 2 finalist , England and West Indies.

Final vs England at Eden Garden, Kolkata

Super Hera Charlos Brathwaite celebrating after the 4th six off Ben Stokes to win the World Cup for West Indies. He hit 4 sixes in a row in the final over at Eden Gardens.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Agence France-Presse

Its a big final. Its England vs West Indies. West Indies won the toss in the final and opted to chase. High on confidence, England came out to bat but S Badree bowls Jason Roy out for a duck on the very second ball of the match. Alex Hales(1) followed Roy in the next over. When Skipper Morgan fall off badree at slip, England was all in trouble in the big final. They scored just 33 runs in the powerplay for the loss of 3 important wickets. Joe Root (54) and Jos Buttler (36) did counterattack and brought the match in balance. England were 84/3 in 11 overs and with the likes of Buttler, Stokes and Moeen Ali, England was looking to explode. But DJ Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite had different plans. First Buttler was undone by Brathwaite. 2 overs later, DJ Bravo did some champion dance as he send back Stokes and Ali in 3 deliveries. Root followed them in the next ball. West Indies somehow applied brakes on their proceedings. Jordan (12) and David Willey (21) played some big shots to end England's inning on 155/9.

Its all set for West Indies to lift the trophy because the kind of batting power they had, this total looked very ordinary. But golden arm of Root did some unexpected stuffs. He send back Charles and Gayle within 3 balls to gave England all reason to fight back into the match. Semi-Final hero, L Simmons out for a duck. West Indies were trailing 11/3 inside 3 overs. Champion DJ Bravo and the man of big matches, Marlon Samuels gave some fight back. DJ Bravo looked scratchy before fall to Adil Rashid. He made 25(27). Andre Russell and Skipper Darren Sammy fall within 3 balls to gave England all hope for the title. West Indies needed 45 runs off 24 balls. Jordan and Willey balled tight lines to brought the equation to 19 runs off the final over. Its England's game to loose now. Ben Stokes to defend 19 runs in final over in front of Carlos Brathwaite. What happened next was History.

Ball 1 : SIX

Ball 2 : SIX

Ball 3 : SIX

Ball 4 : SIXXXXX

and there comes the famous,"Carlos Brathwaite, Carlos

Brathwaite, REMEMBER THE NAME". And its a history for West Indies. Oh my word, What a game we had witnessed of. They became to the only team to won 2 ICC T20 World Cup. And their Skipper Darren Sammy became their golden captain. One should feel sorry for Ben Stokes. It reminds me the Semi-Final of World T20, where Mike Hussey destroyed sipnner Ajmal in the last over.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

Image Source - Google | Image by - cricket.com.au

West Indies cricket changed massively after their ICC T20 World Cup triumph as the rift between their cricket board and senior playersincreased and as a result of that their successful skipper Darren Sammy, Darren Bravo, mystery spinner Sunil Narine, K Pollard, S Badree and Chris Gayle didn't signed further contract with West Indies National Team and the West Indies we know were no longer a great side. Time changes and some players got back to national team before ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Chris Gayle was also back. But West Indies didn't performed well as a team. Sooner than later, West Indies brought back K Pollard and moreover handed him the captaincy. DJ Bravo came out of their retirement just for the T20I. So how the West Indies team looks now? Did they have any chance in ICC T20 World Cup 2020? The answer is a big YES. They formulated a great bunch of T20 players. They have Chris Gayle, E Lewis, L Simmons and S Hope at the top and will fight for top 3 spots. If you think the top 3 was dangerous then mind my words the middle order looks deadly dangerous. It consists of Brendon King, S Hetmyer, N Pooran, the power hitter Andre Russell, veteran all rounder DJ Bravo and Charlos Brathwaite and skipper K Pollard. Oh my words, this batting unit can destroy any bowling attack on their day. Lets talk about bowling department, S Cottrell, O Thomas but Andre Russell, DJ Bravo, C Brathwaite and K Pollard can bowl 4 overs any day. The inclusion of Sunil Narine still in suspense and he is added to this squad then West Indies can sense another World Cup T20 title under their name.

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "NEW ZEALAND"

2020-04-14T23:45:00.000+05:30

Its time to talk about a team which is famously known as "Dark Horses" in ICC tournaments. Yes, this team is New Zealand. They had some finest of the performances in ICC ODI Cricket World Cup but when its comes to T20 World Cup, they didn't got much success as their best performance came in way back in 2007 where reach the Semi-Final in South Africa.

Journey in T20 World Cup 2016

Its another ICC tournament, its another World Cup. New Zealand came into this World Cup with full confidence as they reached the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 where they were beaten by Australia in one sided contest. They were at their very best in the group stages, lets see the journey of so called "Dark Horses" in the T20 World Cup 2016.

1st Match vs India at Nagpur

M Santner masterclass spin bowling was too hard to handle for Indian batsman.
Image Source - Google | Image by - indianexpress

New Zealand won all important toss and elected to bat first in the slow pitch. Martin Guptill welcomed Ashwin with a six on the very first ball of the match. But Ashwin had the last laugh. He trapped Guptill in front of wicket on the very next ball. Veteran Ashish Nehra strikes in his first over to send Munro back in the hunt. India had the perfect start. Spinners, pacers and good fielding didn't allowed New Zealand to score freely. As a result, New Zealand scored just 126 runs in their quota of 20-overs. It looked dead and in favor of Indian Team. But New Zealand spinner's had different ideas. They made the most out of the slow pitch. Shikhar Dhawan(1) trapped LBW in the first over off Nathan McCullum. Santner dounle strike in the 3rd over to send back Rohit Sharma(5) and Suresh Raina(1). Yuvraj(4) followed them and was caught and bowled by McCullum. Indian got off the poor start trailing 26/4 inside 5 overs. Ish Sodhi got the better of star batsman Virat Kohli(23) to left the lower order a mountain to climb. No Indian batsman had the answer of New Zealand’s spinners. Mitchell Santner, Man of the Match (4-0-11-4) , Nathan McCullum and Ish Sodhi shared as many as 9 wickets among them resulting India all out on 79. New Zealand got the boost that require in the big tournament, by beating host India.

2nd match vs Australia at Dharmashala

Mitch McClenaghan used his Mumbai Indian's experience and showed the way to bowl in death over to hand New Zealand their second win of the tournament.
Image Source - Google | Image by - theguardian

Australia faces New Zealand who had a very successful outing against a strong team, India. New Zealand won the toss and boosted by defending low total against strong batting line-up of India, opted to bat first. Martin Guptill and skipper Kane Williamson(24) gave them a good start by scoring 58 in the powerplay without loosing any wicket, leaded by Martin Guptill who scored 39(27) including 4 huge sixes. Australia strike back into the match by sending both openers in quick succession. New Zealand didn't recover from there and kept loosing wickets in regular interval. Australian bowlers kept hitting right areas and didn't allowed big hitters Munro 23(26), Ross Taylor 11(11) and C Anderson 3(6) to score runs. Grant Elliott scored crucial 27(20) to give their bowlers something to defend. New Zealand set a target of 143 runs to Australia which looked chaseble with kind of batting line-up that Australian team had.

Australia looses Shane Watson early in the chase but the Big Bash hero Khawaja kept on playing his shots and Australia scored 50 runs in first 6 overs with the only wicket of Shane Watson. Chase was set for other batsman and its Australia's game to loose. But as New Zealand are known for their never say die attitude and produces upset in big tournaments, they respond in tough way. Firstly, Mitch Santner got the better of Steve Smith, followed by run out U Khawaja(38). Santner removed Warner for just 6 runs. Australia faced mini collapse but they the target was modest, they just wanted to bat sensibly. They needed 77 runs off 60 balls. Glenn Maxwell 22(23) and Mitch Marsh 24(23) didn't took any risk in view to score fast at the end. Equation brought down to 43 off 30 balls. Its all Australia game to loose now. But Maxwell departs on the first ball of 16th over and from there on New Zealand bowlers didn't allowed them to score much boundaries. As a result of this, Australia falls apart by 8 runs. Mitch McClenaghan was awarded Man of the Match (3-0-17-3) for his ruthless death bowling. New Zealand got all important advantage to go through the Semi Final as they have beaten two big teams in as many matches.

3rd Match vs Pakistan at Mohali

Image Source - Google | Image by - Kaustubh Mayekar

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first with an aim to seal a Semi Final spot. New Zealand got off to a good start, all thanks to Veteran Martin Guptill. He smashed Pakistan bowlers all around the park. He along with skipper Kane Williamson, who scored scratchy 17(21), scored 55 runs in the powerplay. Md Irfan gave Pakistan the much needed breakthrough by taking the wicket of K Williamson. Collin Munro followed his skipper in the next over. Pakistan somehow managed to put brake on run rate but Martin Guptill 80(48) with the help of Corey Anderson 21(14) and Veteran Ross Taylor 36*(23), helped New Zealand to post 180 on the board. Sharjeel Khan 47(25) gave Pakistan a perfect start. He and S Ahmed 30(32) scored 66 runs in the powerplay to give Pakistan the much required momentum. All they just need to carry on from there but New Zealand bowlers strike back and got rid of S Ahmed and K Latif to put Pakistan under pressure. Skipper Shahid Afridi scored quickfire 19 runs off just 9 balls and from there onward New Zealand bowlers didn’t allowed Pakistan batsman to score free runs. Pakistan fall short of 22 runs and New Zealand sealed a spot for Semis. Martin Guptill, for his 80 runs knock, adjusted Man of the Match. This is very appreciating performance by this New Zealand side.

4th Match vs Bangladesh at Eden Gardens

Comprehensive performance by New Zealand bowlers to beat Bangladesh to make it four out of four.
Image Source - Google | Image by - CricketCountry Staff

New Zealand won the toss for the 4th time in as many matches and elected to bat first. New Zealand already qualified for the Semis and Bangladesh were out of the competition. New Zealand gave rest to Martin Guptill and tried H Nicholls at the top. But it didn't worked as Nicholls was out after scoring 7 runs off 11 balls. Bangladeshi's bowlers didn't allowed New Zealand openers to score free runs and kept the tight line. Hence, New Zealand scored just 39/1 in the powerplay. They lost their skipper Kane Williamson 42(32) off the last ball of 9th over. Taylor 28(24) and Collin Munro 35(33) somehow kept the scoreboard ticking but all credit goes to Bangladesh bowlers to kept New Zealand batsman at bay. New Zealand were 99/3 at the end off 15 overs.Rest of the batsman struggled and New Zealand finished with 145/8 on the board. Mustafizur Rahman was pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh. He took a 5-fer and finished with brillant bowling performance,4-0-22-5. Bangladesh batsman did't step up on Mustafizur performance. Both the opening batsman gone inside powerplay to put pressure on middle order. They were 30/2 after 6 overs and with the kind of form New Zealand bowlers had, Bangladesh would have to bat of to their skin to have any chance of victory. Bangladesh collapsed and with the help of Grant Elliott(3/12) and Ish Sodhi (3/21), New Zealand bowled out Bangladeshi's Tiger for just 70 runs to won the match comfortably by 75 runs. Skipper Kane Williamson awarded Man of the Match. So, New Zealand to go to Semis with high confidence by winning all league matches.

Semi-Final vs England at Feroz Shah Kotla

New Zealand slipped up in the Semi Final against England. The only unbeaten side gave below par performance in the Semis.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Ram Kumar

England was up against the only unbeaten side of the tournament, New Zealand at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. England won the toss and elected to field. David Willey got the better of Martin Guptill for 15. But Skipper Kane Williamson (32) and Collin Munro (46) batted sensibly in the first 10 overs. It was 91 runs on the board when New Zealand lost their skipper in the 11th over. Munro followed him soon. Corey Anderson struggled a bit for his 28(23). Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan didn't allowed New Zealand batsman to score freely in the last 4 overs. As a result New Zealand just scored over 20 runs their final 4 overs and finished with modest 153/8. England started the chase in champions way. They scored 67 runs in first 6 overs. All thanks to Jason Roy 78(44). He was well supported by Alex Hales 20(19). Roy , Hales and Skipper Morgan(0) lost their wickets in quick succession. Though Joe Root's matured inning of 27*(22) and Jos Buttler's quickfire 32*(17) made the chase a lot easier. Buttler finished the game with a 6 and England won by 7 wickets and reached the Finals. Jason Roy won the Man of the Match award for his 78 runs. New Zealand chocked in the Semi-Final.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

Image Source - Google | Image by - cricket.com.au

New Zealand did had a great run in ICC tournaments but they somehow get the way to loose crucial matches. ICC World Cup 2015 final loss, T 20 World Cup 2016 semi final loss after winning all league games and then the in famous ICC World Cup 2019 final loss against host England. They were unlucky in 2019 final loss but in the rest of the matches, they were not upto their A performance. Its another ICC event, the ICC T20 World Cup 2020. This time they will try to change their fortunes in Australia. They didn't had great outings against India on home soil as they blanked by 0-5 to visitors, 2 losses was in the super over. So, whats their problem in the big matches? Chocked like famous South African team? or they don't have the ability to handle pressure? Let them find out the answer. But, yes they are the Dark Horses in ICC events. With the likes of T20 specialist Collin Munro and Veteran Martin Guptill, their skipper Kane Williamson and another Veteran Ross Taylor, young talent like Tim Seifert, all rounders Jimmy Neesham and Grandehome, spin duos Santner and Sodhi, pace department will have Trent Boult, Tim Southee, L Ferguson and Matt Henry, they can beat any side on their day. If they are not one of the favorites for the title, but one can never put out New Zealand side on big matches as they shown their capability in ICC World Cup 2019.

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "ENGLAND"

2020-04-05T04:03:00.000+05:30

Its time to talk about England Cricket Team. Can you guess which phase is suitable to start to talk about them? I believe majority of you got it right, it was in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the match against Bangladesh and England lost that match and was knocked out of the World Cup and failed to reach the quarterfinal of the mega event. This early exit from the World Cup 2015 gave them all reason to sit, think and regroup as a team.

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

Another ICC tournament, another opportunity for this fearless England Team. Their moral was shattered in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Captain Eoin Morgan to face a tough task to build England Cricket Team and he didn’t disappointed. The likes of Jason Roy, Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow added to top of the order. The brand of cricket Captain Morgan wanted was just to be fearless and ruthless and his boys did exactly the same result.. All they wanted is to show their brand of cricket. Lets see their journey in the T20 World Cup 2016.

1st match vs West Indies at Wankhede

England were slammed by Chris Gayle in their opening match at Wankhede.
Image Source - Google | Image by - itv

2nd match vs South Africa at Wankhede

Joe Root playing one of his shots against South Africa to help England chased record 230 runs
Image Source - Google | Image by - Bharat Sundaresan

3rd match vs Afghanistan at Feroz Shah Kotla

All rounder M Ali rescued England with his 41* and he also took 1 wicket to help his side to win against Afghanistan.
Image Source - Google | Image by - zeenews.india

Boosted by their performances against South Africa, England's next assignment was against Afghanistan. England won the toss and elected to bat. England top order struggled on the slow pitch of Kotla, Delhi. They lost their top 4 inside the powerplay and scored just 42 runs. Roy, Vince, Morgan and Root fall cheaply. Their fortunes didn't changed after powerplay as they lost Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in quick succession. England were trailing at 57/6 in the 10th over. Afghanistan on the verge of a big upset. But England's lower order had different plans. Moeen Ali scored unbeaten 41 runs off 33 balls. Ali was well supported by Jordan (15) and Willey (20). England finished with 142/7 and can sense fightback from his bowlers. Afghanistan's chase wasn't started off well as they lost 3 wickets in first 3 overs and from there onwards, Afghanistan was never near to the chase. Most off their batsman got the start but didn't capitalize on that as a result they scored just 127/9 in 20 overs, falling short by 15 runs. Moeen Ali was awarded the Man of the Match for his much needed 41* and 1 wicket. So, England survived and escaped themselves from huge upset from Afghanistan.

4th match vs Sri Lanka at Feroz Shah Kotla

Jos Buttler powers England to beat Sri Lanka and occupy Semi Final birth.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Simon Wilde

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field. England lost Alex Hales (0) early in the inning but Jason Roy and Joe Root stabilized England's inning and scored decent 65/1 in first 10 overs. Kotla pitch was slow so it seems like England's plan was to explore in later part of inning. Joe Root 25(24) and Jason Roy 42(39) fall in quick succession before batted sensibly on slow pitch. England,unlike in previous game, kept wickets in hand and that paid off as Jos Buttler 66*(37) played blinder in later part of the inning. He was well supported by skipper Morgan (22). England finished at 171/4. Sri Lanka struggled right from the first over and their scorecard reads 15/4 in 3 overs, all thanks to some fine spell of David Willey. Captain Angelo Mathews didn't lost there, he along with Kapugedera (30) and Thisara Perera (20) did some fight and kept Sri Lanka in the chase. But death over specialist, Chris Jordan was too good for Sri Lankan lower order. He bowled with pace and accuracy and took 3 wicked in the later part of inning to left Captain Mathews a mountain to climb. Skipper Mathews's 73* runs off 54 balls was not good enough and Sri Lanka lost by 10 runs. Jos Buttler, for his 66*(37) was awarded Man of the Match. With that England through to the Semi-Finals, where they faced unbeaten and dark horses New Zealand.

Semi-Final vs New Zealand at Feroz Shah Kotla

England opener Jason Roy showed hs master class stroke play to hand England thorugh to Final vs West Indies.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Jason Le Miere

Final vs West Indies at Eden Gardens

England all rounder, Ben Stokes after been hit 4 sixes in a row in the final over of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 Final.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Chiranjib Sengupta

Its a big final. Its England vs West Indies. West Indies won the toss in the final and opted to chase. High on confidence, England came out to bat but S Badree bowls Jason Roy out for a duck on the very second ball of the match. Alex Hales(1) followed Roy in the next over. When Skipper Morgan fall off badree at slip, England was all in trouble in the big final. They scored just 33 runs in the powerplay for the loss of 3 important wickets. Joe Root (54) and Jos Buttler (36) did counterattack and brought the match in balance. England were 84/3 in 11 overs and with the likes of Buttler, Stokes and Moeen Ali, England was looking to explode. But DJ Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite had different plans. First Buttler was undone by Brathwaite. 2 overs later, DJ Bravo did some champion dance as he send back Stokes and Ali in 3 deliveries. Root followed them in the next ball. West Indies somehow applied brakes on their proceedings. Jordan (12) and David Willey (21) played some big shots to end England's inning on 155/9.

Its all set for West Indies to lift the trophy because the kind of batting power they had, this total looked very ordinary. But golden arm of Root did some unexpected stuffs. He send back Charles and Gayle within 3 balls to gave England all reason to fight back into the match. Semi-Final hero, L Simmons out for a duck. West Indies were trailing 11/3 inside 3 overs. Champion DJ Bravo and the man of big matches, Marlon Samuels gave some fight back. DJ Bravo looked scratchy before fall to Adil Rashid. He made 25(27). Andre Russell and Skipper Darren Sammy fall within 3 balls to gave England all hope for the title. West Indies needed 45 runs off 24 balls. Jordan and Willey balled tight lines to brought the equation to 19 runs off the final over. Its England's game to loose now. Ben Stokes to defend 19 runs in final over in front of Carlos Brathwaite. What happened next was History.

Ball 1 : SIX

Ball 2 : SIX

Ball 3 : SIX

Ball 4 : SIXXXXX

and there comes the famous,"Carlos Brathwaite, Carlos

Brathwaite, REMEMBER THE NAME". And its a history for West Indies. Oh my word, What a game we had witnessed of. They became to the only team to won 2 ICC T20 World Cup. And their Skipper Darren Sammy became their golden captain. One should feel sorry for Ben Stokes. It reminds me the Semi-Final of World T20, where Mike Hussey destroyed sipnner Ajmal in the last over.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

Image Source - Google | Image by - cricket.com.au

This is different England that we knew in 2015. They are fearless. However, their last World T20 campaign ended in unforgettable manner, all thanks to Carlos Brathwaite. England won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in the most dramatic manner. The kind of players they had was just too good to handle on their day. The batting was power packed with the likes of Jason Roy, Jonny Bristow, Skipper Morgan, Jos Buttler and their golden man Ben Stokes. They also have very famous Jofra Archer. No doubt, this team will enter in the T20 World Cup 2020 as hot favorites along with Host Australia and India, but the kind of cricket England played since 2015 was quite appreciable. All they just needed to find their best combination in bowling department. They needed bunch of bowlers who can make the most of their batsman's efforts. So what's your opinion about England chances in this year World Cup?

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "AUSTRALIA"

2020-03-29T14:49:00.000+05:30

If we start talking about Cricket, then one must forced to think about one of the cricket giants, Australia. They dominated cricket world like no else did, their team in 2000's gives us a glimpse of early West Indies team. They have the maximum, 5 ICC Cricket World Cup. But when it comes to T20 World Cup, they didn't taste any success till now. They played once in a final, 2 semi-final appearances and 3 group stage exit. These number didn't match the brand of cricket played in Australia. But, T20 World Cup 2020 played in their own backyard. Before getting too further, lets go back to T20 World Cup 2016. Why they did't won that year.

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

Another T20 World Cup and another hope for the cricket giants to win the T20 World Cup. They didn't had a great start of 2016 as Australia was beaten by India in their home by 0-3. But whenever we see mighty Australian playing cricket and entering in big tournaments, you just can take them lightly. One of the main reason for their loss in T20 World Cup 2016 was to alter their opening combination. Regular open David Warner sent at number 4 in order to adjust U Khawaja, who had unforgettable Big Bash season by scoring lots of runs. Lets see how their journey proceeded.

1st match vs New Zealand at Dharmashala

Mitch McClenaghan used his Mumbai Indian's experience and showed the way to bowl in death over to hand New Zealand their second win of the tournament.
Image Source - Google | Image by - theguardian

Australia looses Shane Watson early in the chase but the Big Bash hero Khawaja kept on playing his shots and Australia scored 50 runs in first 6 overs with the only wicket of Shane Watson. Chase was set for other batsman and its Australia's game to loose. But as New Zealand are known for their never say die attitude and produces upset in big tournaments, they respond in tough way. Firstly, Mitch Santner got the better of Steve Smith, followed by run out U Khawaja(38). Santner removed Warner for just 6 runs. Australia faced mini collapse but they the target was modest, they just wanted to bat sensibly. They needed 77 runs off 60 balls. Glenn Maxwell 22(23) and Mitch Marsh 24(23) didn't took any risk in view to score fast at the end. Equation brought down to 43 off 30 balls. Its all Australia game to loose now. But Maxwell departs on the first ball of 16th over and from there on New Zealand bowlers didn't allowed them to score much boundaries. As a result of this, Australia falls apart by 8 runs. Mitch McClenaghan was awarded Man of the Match (3-0-17-3) for his ruthless death bowling. Australia once again didn't had a good outing in the World T20.

2nd match vs Bangladesh at Bangalore

Australian spinner and the Man of the Match, Adam Zampa took 4-0-23-3.
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Australia faced Bangladesh in their next match. Australia won the toss and elected to field. Bangladesh didn't started off well and lost S Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman inside powerplay. Bangladesh scored 33/2 in their first 6 overs. Md Mithun(23) and Shakib Al Hasan(33) gave some contribution to steady Bangladesh's inning. But Bangladesh kept loosing wicket at regular interval and the scorecard says 105/5 in 15.2 overs. But all time reliable Mahmudullah quickfire runs in the last 5 overs gave Bangladesh something to defend. Mahmudullah score 49*(29). Bangladesh ended up scoring 156/5 in their 20 overs. Once again Khawaja provided Australia a good start. Along with Shane Watson, Khawaja scored 51 runs in powerplay without loosing any wicket. Australian batting line looked nervous and wickets were tumbling one after other. Steve Smith(14) and David Warner(17) got out cheaply. U Khawaja held one end and scored important 58 runs before getting out. Glenn Maxwell's short stay at the crease proved vital. He attacked Bangladesh's bowler and scored 26 runs off 15 balls. Australia somehow won the match by 3 wicket but their perfromance in the first 2 matches showed they surely needed to gear up for the next two big matches vs Pakistan and India as they needed to win both these matches to qualify for the semi's. Adam Zampa was adjusted Man of the Match for his spell of 4-0-23-3.

3rd match vs Pakistan at Mohali

All rounder James Faulkner took a 5-fer vs Pakistan at Mohali. He ended with his career best figure of 4-0-27-5.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Sakshi Gupta

2 matches and 2 below par performances by this Australian Team. One more bad performance and they were out of the tournament. Another aisan team, not as weak as Bangladesh, was in front of them and Australia on verge of knocking out of T20 WC 2016. Important toss to win for Australia and they decided to set the target this time as were not good enough while chasing in the previous match.

Australia while trying to score quickly, lost 3 early wickets. In form Khawaja(21), Aaron Finch(15) and out of form David Warner(9) got out cheaply. The one thing that Australia had was good run rate. They were 57/3 when Finch got out in 7.2 overs. Its now upto Reliable Smith and attacking Maxwell. They didn't disappointed. Skipper Smith score unbeaten 61*. Glenn Maxwell scored 30 runs off just 18 balls to let his skipper set for the big inning. Maxwell got out and Shane Watson,who devoted into the lower middle order, came. This move proved vital, he scored quick runs at the end. Steve Smith played unorthodox shot against pacer Wahab Riaz was eye catching. Smith and Waston 44*(21) took Australian total to 193/4 and gave Pakistan a mountain to climb. Pakistan's chase was not good enough as opener Ahmed Shehzad(1) fall cheaply. Sharjeel Khan(30), Khalid Latif(46) and Umar Akmal(32) got the start but none of them converted into a match winning knock. Skipper Shahid Afridi scored only 14 runs off 7 balls. Veteran Shoaib Malik somehow kept Pakistan team in the chase with 40*(20) but James Faulkner magic on the other end proved too hard to handle for other batsman. As a result, Australia survived another day in the T20 World Cup 2016 and won the match by 21 runs. James Faulkner was awarded for his 5 wicket hall. He ended up with the figure 4-0-27-5.

4th match vs India at Mohali

Australia suffered Virat Kohli's masterclass and had early exit in the ICC T20 World Cup.
Image Source - Google | Image by - WRIDDHAAYAN BHATTACHARYYA

Its India vs Australia, simple equation : Win the match and go to semi final. Australia won the toss in this virtual quarterfinal and elected to bat first. They got off to a superb start. U Khawaja (26 runs off 16 balls) and Aaron Finch(43 runs off 34 balls) gave Indian bowlers a tough time in the powerplay. They added 54 runs in just 4.2 overs before Khawaja sent back by Veteran bowler Ashish Nehra. Australia got the momentum to set big target in the must win contest. But Indian bowlers strike back into the match and got wicket in regular interval. David Warner, who had forgettable World Cup scored only 2 runs. Skipper Steve Smith(6) and Aaron Finch followed David Warner to left Australia struggling at 100/4 in 13 overs. This was quite a good come back by India. Australia never get going from then. Glenn Maxwell(31), Shane Watson(18), James Faulkner(10) struggled to score runs. Wicket Keeper P Nevill scored 10 runs off last 2 deliveries to end Australian inning to 160/6. This target was very much chaseble by Indian strong batting lineup.

The five time ICC CWC champions didn't gave up easily. They made Indian top order struggled with some high variety bowling. Indian was struggling on 49/3 inside 8 overs. Openers Rohit Sharma(12), Shikhar Dhawan(13) and Suresh Raina(10). Dependable Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh somehow managed to kept their wickets but runs was not coming. In he process of score runs, Yuvraj departed. He made 21 run off 18 balls. Virat Kohli was joined by his skipper MS Dhoni. They played sensibly for few overs. Equation was brought down to 39 runs required off 18 balls. Little bit of tension in the Indian camp. Well set Virat Kohli took the charge and scored 20 runs off James Faulkner in the 18th over. That proved the turning point of the match. Virat Kohli didn't stop there, he smashed 4 boundaries off Nathan Coulter Nile to left 4 runs off 6 balls. He alone won the match for his team. Dhoni completed the formality by hitting a 4 on the first ball of last over to hand India a 6-wicket victory and ended Australia's campaign of this World Cup. Man of the Match, Virat Kohli scored 82* off 51 balls. Another T20 World Cup and another Australia early exist.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

Image Source - Google | Image by - cricket.com.au

Another T20 World Cup in 2020. Is this World Cup is different in some way for the Australia Cricket Team? The answer is YES. First time the T20 World Cup will be played in Australia. If we go back in 2011, before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 which was played in India, people were expecting and many are confident like no one that Indian Team will win the World Cup 2011. Home advantage, great bunch of players and to break the jinx of 28 years of World Cup. We are Similar situation but this time the team and host are different. Its 5 times ICC Cricket World Cup champions. There is no reason why they go into the tournament with full of expectations, confidence and to break the jinx of T20 World Cup. So are they only favorites? No, India and fearless England are there in the queue. Yes, they had the best chance to win the T20 World Cup 2020. But for that they need to provide their A game in every match. They will have the supporting crowd, Big Bash experience and with the likes of Captain Aaron FInch, comeback players David Warner and Steven Smith, power hitters with the likes Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey, Mitch Marsh and with the T20 experience of Mitch Starc and Adam Zampa ,they can sense victory this time and will enter as one of the hot-favorite alongside India and England. What your thoughts about chances of Australia winning T20 World Cup 2020, do mention in comment section.

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T20 WC 2016 vs Expectations in T20 WC 2020 : "INDIA"

2020-03-28T16:46:00.000+05:30

Whenever we talked about T20 World Cup, memories of inaugural World Cup gets some fresh air. It was in 2007 where a young fresh Indian Team lifted the trophy under their new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But still wonder why Indian Team didn't add another World T20 title under their name. Despite some good performances in ODI's and Tests, India didn't won another T20 World Cup.

Journey of T20 World Cup 2016

Another T20 World Cup came in 2016, another chance for Indian Team and their fans to have some glory of T20 World Cup and moreover this time Indian Team entered in the tournament as Hot-Favorites as they have beaten Australia in T20 series in their own den, following victory vs SL in home series. Asia Cup 2016 played in 20-over format just to have some preparation for the T20 World Cup. Indian goes onto win all matches and lifted the Asia Cup. What's next...??? It’s another hope to lift T20 World Cup. Also, 2016 T20 World Cup played in India and there was no reason why India not lift the trophy?

1st match vs New Zealand at Nagpur

M Santner masterclass spin bowling was too hard to handle for Indian batsman.
Image Source - Google | Image by - indianexpress

New Zealand won all important toss and elected to bat first in the slow pitch. Martin Guptill welcomed Ashwin with a six on the very first ball of the match. But Ashwin had the last laugh. He trapped Guptill in front of wicket on the very next ball. Veteran Ashish Nehra strikes in his first over to send Munro back in the hunt. India had the perfect start. Spinners, pacers and good fielding didn't allowed New Zealand to score freely. As a result, New Zealand scored just 126 runs in their quota of 20-overs. It looked dead and in favor of Indian Team. But New Zealand spinner's had different ideas. They made the most out of the slow pitch. Shikhar Dhawan(1) trapped LBW in the first over off Nathan McCullum. Santner dounle strike in the 3rd over to send back Rohit Sharma(5) and Suresh Raina(1). Yuvraj(4) followed them and was caught and bowled by McCullum. Indian got off the poor start trailing 26/4 inside 5 overs. Ish Sodhi got the better of star batsman Virat Kohli(23) to left the lower order a mountain to climb. No Indian batsman had the answer of New Zealand’s spinners. Mitchell Santner, the Man of the Match (4-0-11-4) , Nathan McCullum and Ish Sodhi shared as many as 9 wickets among them resulting India all out on 79. It was a below par performance by Indian Team and probably the much required early wake up call which was very important in such a big tournaments.

2nd match vs Pakistan in Kolkata

Virat Kohli bowed to the great Sachin Tendulkar after reaching his half century.
Image Source - Google | Image by - thecricketlounge

3rd match vs Bangladesh in Bangalore

Indian skipper MS Dhoni ran out the Bangladeshi's batsman in the last ball to hand India an unlikely victory.
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Its another Asian team contest. One can never take Bangladesh Team lightly as we all know, on their day they can upset any team. And they proved the Indian Team in this match.
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl. Both Indian openers was under pressure because of their two successive failures. They played sensibly in powerplay but Rohit Sharma(18) ended up losing his wicket on the last ball of powerplay. India were 42/1 in 6 overs. Shikhar Dhawan(23) followed him in the next over. Virat Kohli(24) and Suresh Raina(30) kept the scoreboard ticking and didn't took any risk and made sure India not loose any wicket in the next 6 overs. This strategy backfired them. In the process, Kohli went first, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya(15) and Yuvraj Singh(3) fell in quick succession and India had a mini collapse from 95/2 to 117/6. India scored all important runs in the last 3 overs and finished to 146/7 in 20 overs. Bangladesh maintained the required rate and scored 45 runs in first 6 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. This match was equally balanced till that point. Tamim Iqbal(35) fell and Shakib Al Hasan joined Sabbir and scored some quick runs. Its going Bangladeshi's way. Indian bowlers strike back and got rid of Sabbir Rehman, Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan. Its down to 17 runs of 12 balls. But Jasprit Bumrah gave just 6 runs to gave Hardik Pandya 11 runs to defend in the last over. Fist ball : single. Mushfiqur Rahim then scored back to back boundaries to give some panic in Indian camp. Its down to 2 runs from 3 balls. Its Bangladesh game to loose now. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah fell on successive deliveries in order to hit the ball out of the park and caught at deep mid wicket. Its 1 run required off 1 ball. Lots of discussion among Hardik Pandya, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli and Captain Dhoni. Here goes Pandya and bowls a wide slower bouncer, the bastman misses and run blindly. Dhoni ran fast and wipped off the bail in time to give India one of the narrowest win and that by just 1 run. Disappointed faces in Bangladesh camp as they once again gave away match to India. This match will be remembered by each and every cricket fan.

4th match vs Australia at Mohali

Virat Kohli again showed why he is called as the "Best Chaser" of current era.
Image Source - Google | Image by - indiatoday

It's a high voltage encounter, a virtual quater final and two big teams was against each other. Australia won the toss and in view of trying putting pressure on Indian Team, elected to bat. Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch gave Australia a flying start and scored 54 runs in 4.2 overs before Khawaja was undone by Veteran Ashish Nehra. Australia got the momentum to set a big target. But Indian Team came back into the match by taking wickets at regular interval. As a result, Australia didn't capitalize on their good start and ended up posting average total 160/6 in their 20 overs. In reply, India again got a poor start as both Rohit Sharma(12) and Shikhar Dhawan(13) got out cheaply and India scored just 37 runs in 6 overs. Raina(10) and Yuvraj(21) followed them leaving pressure on Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. India required 39 runs off 18 balls. Something special from Virat Kohli required and he didn't disappoint. He welcomed Faulkner by 4,4,6 and goes onto score 20 runs in that over. He also scored 4 boundaries off Coulter-Nile in the next over to brought down equation to 4 runs off 6 balls. MS Dhoni finishes the game with the boundaries of the first ball and match was over. Its King Kohli,the Man of the Match, scored 82* off just 51 balls to handed India a semi-final seat.

Semi-Final vs West Indies at Wankhede

Skipper MS Dhoni(left) and batsman Virat Kohli after the loss against Champion West Indies in the Semi Final at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
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Its India vs WI semi-final. On the paper, West Indies never disappoints their fans with some big power hitters in their rank. But host India was not far behind and with form Virat Kohli was there, no one could stop India to reach final.West Indies won the toss in the pressure game and send India to bat. India,unlike other games, got off to a good start. Rohit Sharma(43) and A Rahane(40) gave India the perfect platform to explore in the final overs. India reached 100 in 12.2 overs. Again its one man for India, Virat Kohli took charge and smashed West Indies bowler on the batting pitch of Wankhede. Kohli goes onto scored 89* off 47 balls to get India to a big total 192. But is there is any total called as "Big" against the likes of Gayle, Russell, Bravo and other hitters.Jasprit Bumrah knocked dangerous Chris Gayle(5) in his very first deliveries and Ashish Nehra removed big-match player Marlon Samuels(8) in the next over to leave West Indies struggling at 19/2 in 3 overs. Then the moment arrived. Both Charles 52(36) and Simmons 82*(51) got West Indies steady and not only kept wickets but also hammered Indian bowlers all around in Wankhede. Virat Kohli came to bowl and removed Charles straightaway. But Mr. Russell, the deadly hitters arrived. He was ruthless and scored 43*(20) including 4 towering 6's and won the match for West Indies by hitting a high 6 off Virat Kohli. The story would be different if Ashwin and Pandya didn't oversteps. Their no-balls gave two life line to Simmons. The lucky Simmons was adjusted Man of the Match. Over dependence on Virat Kohli, poor bowling and fielding sums up India's journey in 2016 WC T20.

Expectations in T20 World Cup 2020

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Indian team will go to Australia for the 7th edition of T20 World Cup with the dream to end up their ICC trophy drought. India just blanked New Zealand 5-0 in their own backyard and the bunch of players India have, no team will do mistake to take this Indian Team lightly. They have a new Captain and the best batsman, Virat Kohli. Rohit Sharma proved his importance in the team. They both are the backbone of their batting line-ups. Who else are there? KL Rahul was in tremendous form following a superb series vs New Zealand. Shreyas Iyer answered the much debatable question of no 4 position. There will be big hitters with likes of MS Dhoni, Rishab Pant and Hardik Pandya in the line-ups. R Jadeja was a different Jadeja after his innings in Semi-Final vs NZ in the CWC 2019. The bowling department will be headed by Jasprit Bumrah, who will be supported by the likes of Md. Shami and B. Kumar. Y Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav will be the spinners. T20 World Cup was not far behind. So would you rate India as the hot-favorites to life the cup this time? I think its too early to rank them hot-favorites as host Australia and fearless England are also the strong contender for this year World T20. Over dependance on Rohit, Virat and Bumrah is still the question to get some answers. So, by today, its fair to say that host Australia, fearless England and classy India are the 3 contenders for the T20 World Cup. Lets give your suggestions and view regarding the favorites to lift the T20 World Cup 2020.

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Face of change of Indian Cricket : "SOURAV GANGULY"

2020-03-26T23:40:00.002+05:30

Great Sourav Ganguly acknowledge the crowd from the balcony after the end of his final test match.
Image Source - Google | Image by - Tony Tharakan

If you sit and want to conclude Indian Cricket in two era's, then it should be "Pre-Ganguly" and "Post-Ganguly". This is what the current President of BCCI had the impact on Indian Cricket. This number 99 came, ruled and went like a King whose shadow is still there in every cricket fan's mind even after 12 years of his retirement.

Lets start from the scratch. On 8th July 1972, a child named Sourav Chandidas Ganguly was born in Calcutta in a rich family and so he was nicknamed as "The Maharaja"(King) and later on by "Bengal Tiger". He started playing cricket in early ages and represented school, district and soon he got call from the Ranji Team. He caught everyone attention by his performance and soon he was selected in Indian Cricket Team in 1992. But he had a forgettable debut against West Indies as he scored only 3 runs. It was not the end of a great Warrior, instead the start of making of the best captain that Indian Cricket ever had..

And the golden moment arrived in 1996. He was recalled for the National Team in 1996 for the England Tour and the rest is history. The Prince of Kolkata struck a classic century in his debut test at the Home of Cricket, "Lord's", He scored fine 131 which is still the highest by a debut player at this ground. He goes onto the next match and scored another century in his 2nd test inning. This mate didn't turn back. He soon became an important part of the national side.

And then came year 1999-2000, the black phase of Indian Cricket. Lot of senior players involved in match fixing scandals. Indian Cricket was in danger, especially they lost regular captain Md Azhar, senior player Ajay Jadeja (both was accused in match fixing). When the great Sachin Tendulkar refuses the captaincy its that man again, Mr. Sourav Ganguly step up and he became the regular captain of Indian Team. As soon as he arrived as the leader, he brought youngster into the side, the likes of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Md Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and its the same group that helped Indian Team to lift the WC 2011. The tough challenge was knocking the door and the mighty Aussies was on the tour of India in 2001. The Eden Garden win somehow was the turning fortunes for the men in blues.

CAPTAINCY RECORD IN TEST MATCHES

VENUE	MATCHES	WON	LOST	DRAW
Home	21	10	3	8
Away	28	11	10	7
Overall	49	21	13	15

Ganguly was praised all over the world and the country now started to believe that this Indian team can win overseas. And who can forget the Natwest 2002 Final, Lord's Balcony and the shirt's are off. He gave his opening slot to Virender Sehwag to bring the best out of him, gave Yuvraj, Kaif, Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan the important time to fit into the squad. That's the way to lead youngsters. Its time for 2003 WC in South Africa. India reached the final and lost badly to the Champion's Australia. Heartbreak all over the country but Ganguly kept the team united and motivated for the all important tour of Pakistan in 2004. India won the ODI series 3-2 after going down 1-2 and won the test series by 2-1 as well. Ganguly became the first Indian Captain to win a series in Pakistan. He also had success in Border Gavaskar Trophy 2004 in Australia where Indian team performed well and retained the golden trophy.

India chased 326 in the Natwest Trophy 2002 vs England. Ganguly celebrating with the Man of the Match, Md. Kaif
Image Source - Google | Image by - Twitter - Aakash Chopra@cricketaakash

CAPTAINCY RECORD IN ODI MATCHES

VENUE	MATCHES	WON	LOST	NR
Home	36	18	18	0
Away	51	24	24	3
Neutral	59	34	23	2
Overall	146	76	65	5

Someone truly said."Every good thing has an ending". Yes its true but the way fortunes changed for Ganguly was unbelievable. Its all started after the John Wright-Ganguly partnership broke down. Its new Coach of Indian Team, Mr. Greg Chappell. As soon as he arrived in the management, it seems like he wanted to rule the team in his own terms. His rift with captain Ganguly soon got spark and the man who changed the face of Indian Cricket removed from the Captaincy and soon kicked out of the team. It seems like he was left alone by everyone. Heartbreak to each and every fan of the country.

Image Source - Google | Image by - m.rediff

Ganguly was known as the "Comeback Man" for a reason. He turned back to county cricket, scored runs. At the same time Indian Team ,under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid was going through lean patch. Indian Team had a poor champions trophy 2006, then was blanked by South Africa in ODI's. As a result of hard work and some injuries in the team, Ganguly was selected for the Test series in South Africa. He performed well among the other players. He soon selected for the ODI's and performed in the very first match scored 98 vs West Indies before getting run out. Year later he scored his career best 239 vs Pakistan. Everything is going in his favor and the come back man scored more runs than any other Indian player in the calendar year.

Former Indian skipper scored a century vs Australia in his last test series.

Time again turned his face from the Prince Of Kolkata. Its 2007 WC in West Indies and India was knocked out in the Group Stage. And as a result of it, he was again not selected in future series. It was 2008 Border Gavaskar Trophy, Ganguly was recalled for the tests but before the start of the series he made an announcement as it was going to be his last series. He scored a century in that series and made 85 in his last test. Though his last test inning ended with the score of 0 but this man has changed the intensity of Indian Cricket. There was tears all around. The man who changed the face of Indian Cricket will not wear the national jersey again. Many Captain will come and go in future but in reality the real captain of Indian Cricket was only Sourav Ganguly.

Ganguly represented Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural Indian Premier League(IPL). He didn't achieve great success in IPL. After IPL he did commentary in ICC matches which is also loved by his fans. At present Ganguly is serving as the President of Indian Cricket. When the Ganguly-Chappell spat was on who on the earth ever thought, this man would be the ruler of Indian Cricket. This is all about the Prince of Kolkata. From his entry into the Indian Cricket to the President of BCCI, this man has been the motivation of many people across the country. No wonder if we see him the Chief Minister of Bengal in future. He's Sourav Ganguly, can't rule him out. Isn't...?

Lets have a look at some of his records which itself says how big a cricketer he was for India :

Highest individual score by an Indian in WC = 183 vs SL in 1999
First Indian captain to win Test and ODI series in Pakistan.
First cricketer on the planet to win 4 consecutive Man of the Match award.
First cricketer to score 3 centuries in Champions Trophy.
Highest individual score in the Champions Trophy Final = 117 vs NZ in 2000

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