Author: WebDesk

Trisha Ghosal and Rohan Chowdhury in Hangzhou When the goal – 100 medals at the Asian Games – was announced and a slogan coined, quickly followed by multiple promos for TV, one of the common reactions was cynicism tinged with derision. Before winning 70 medals in Jakarta in 2018, India had only thrice crossed the 50-medal barrier, and two of those (1951 and 1982) were home Games. A century seemed a big ask for a country that had finished behind Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Chinese Taipei in the medals table in 2018. No one’s sniggering now. The target has been…

The ODI World Cup is set to begin at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday (October 5). Defending champions England led by Jos Buttler will meet New Zealand captained by Kane Williamson in the first match. These two teams had met in the ODI World Cup final in 2019. England had snatched a thrilling win back then. In four years, England seem to have grown stronger. They have perhaps the most ballistic batting line-up in the shorter versions — Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes to name just a few. Almost all those who hold the bat…

Vaibhav Tripathi Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan has expressed his admiration for India’s captain Rohit Sharma, considering him the most challenging batter to bowl to ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023. Additionally, Shadab singled out Kuldeep Yadav as India’s most potent bowler, acknowledging his outstanding form and recent recognition as the Player of the Tournament in the Asia Cup. “I admire Rohit Sharma a lot and, among the leading batsmen in the world, he is the most difficult to bowl at. Once he gets set, he becomes very dangerous. Among the bowlers, since I am a leg-spinner, it will be…

Vaibhav Tripathi On Saturday, September 29, two World Cup 2023 warm-up matches concluded without a decisive outcome. In the warm-up game between India and England in Guwahati, no play was possible due to unfavorable weather conditions. Meanwhile, at Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium, the warm-up match between Australia and the Netherlands witnessed a total of 37.2 overs being bowled. After winning the toss, Australia chose to bat first in the 50-over game, which was eventually reduced to 23 overs due to rain. Australia opened with Josh Inglis, who had limited experience as an opener in ODIs, partnering with Steve Smith. While…

Vaibhav Tripathi New Zealand v Pakistan In the warm-up game played between New Zealand and Pakistan in Hyderabad, the former secured a convincing five-wicket victory. Rachin Ravindra, who opened the batting for New Zealand ahead of Will Young, played a pivotal role with his impressive 97-run knock, as they chased down the massive target of 346 in just the 44th over. Incidentally, in the eight ODIs Ravindra has played so far, he has never batted higher than six. For Pakistan, Babar Azam (80 runs) and Mohammad Rizwan (103 runs) were the mainstays of the batting unit. Saud Shakeel, the…

Bangladesh began the day on a wrong note as Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out of their opening World Cup warm-up fixture with a foot injury. But they ended it with smiles on their faces as they registered a morale-boosting seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Guwahati. Bangladesh chased down the target of 264 in just 42 overs. In good conditions for batting, Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das provided Bangladesh with the perfect start, adding 131 in just 20.4 overs. Litton, who hasn’t been among the runs in the recent past, essayed some delightful flicks. Meanwhile, Tanzid employed the pull…

Vaibhav Tripathi New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the opening match of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup against England, scheduled for October 5 in Hyderabad, due to his ongoing recovery from a knee injury. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Friday, September 29, also confirmed that Williamson will participate only as a batter in the warm-up game against Pakistan. However, there are hopes that he will be able to both bat and field in the second warm-up match against South Africa. Gary Stead, the head coach, emphasized their cautious approach to Williamson’s recovery, stating, “Right from…

Vaibhav Tripathi Australia have announced Marnus Labuschagne as a replacement for the injured Ashton Agar for the upcoming World Cup to be held in India. Meanwhile, Travis Head, who has been laid low by a wrist injury, was retained. Australia finalized their squad just before the ICC deadline for changes, which was set for Thursday. George Bailey, the chief selector, acknowledged the difficulty of the decision and stated, “This was a tough call but unfortunately, we couldn’t carry both Travis and Ashton into the tournament with the injuries they have. With a focused rehabilitation block, we are hopeful Ashton can…

Vaibhav Tripathi Veteran Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has spoken out about his omission from the 2023 World Cup squad. Tamim expressed his reluctance to agree to unrealistic expectations from the think-tank. In his comments, Tamim indirectly criticized a senior Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official, suggesting that he chose not to participate in the World Cup following disagreements regarding his fitness and batting position. “Someone called me from the top level of the board who is very involved with our cricket. He said that if you go to the World Cup, you have to play the matches by managing your (back)…

Vaibhav Tripathi The Player of the Match in the 2019 World Cup final, Ben Stokes, believes that England have a very good chance of defending their World Cup crown. “I don’t think it’s arrogance to say we’re a very good team. We’re in the mix. And what we now have in our favour, I think, is experience of huge games – an edge against sides who don’t play as many. I know franchise T20 cricket means a lot more players have been exposed to those situations; it’s great for that. But it doesn’t come close to wearing your country’s shirt,…