International
IND v WI, 1st ODI: Chahal, Sundar combine to bowl West Indies out for 176
Yuzvendra Chahal starred with a stunning 4/49 as West Indies were bowled out for just 176 in 43.5 overs in the series opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. At 79/7 in 23 overs, things could have been worse for West Indies if not for the 78-run partnership between Jason Holder (57) and Fabian Allen (29).
The duo’s stand meant West Indies crossed the 150-mark but failed to bat out their full quota of 50 overs. For India, apart from Chahal, Washington Sundar provided great support with his 3/30 in nine overs on a pitch that provided a lot of turn for the spinners. Prasidh Krishna (2/29) and Mohammed Siraj (1/26) were good in extracting some help for the pacers.
Pushed into batting first, Shai Hope smashed Siraj for consecutive boundaries through the off-side. But on the next ball, Siraj had the last laugh as Hope chopped on a scrambled-seam delivery to his stumps in an attempt to drive.
Brandon King and Darren Bravo found boundaries till both of them were taken out by Sundar in the 12th over. While King chipped a slower off-break to mid-wicket, Bravo was beaten by lack of turn and was rapped on the pads. Sundar convinced captain Rohit Sharma to take the review and replays showed the ball hitting the stumps.
India continued to keep a lid on the scoring rate as West Indies continued to give wickets to spinners. Nicholas Pooran missed the sweep off Chahal and was hit low on the front pad after the ball turned in. Umpire gave it not out but India took the review and got to change the decision as ball-tracking showed the ball crashing into the middle stump.
After Pooran became Chahal’s 100th scalp in ODIs, the leg-spinner dismissed captain Kieron Pollard on the very next ball. Pollard, in a bid to loft down the gr’und, didn’t use his feet and missed the googly from Chahal, only for his off-stump to be rattled for a golden duck.
In his next over, Chahal bagged his third wicket as Shamarh Brooks tried to defend a sharply turning delivery, taking an edge to keeper Rishabh Pant. The on-field umpire gave it not out but it was overturned on review as ultra-edge showed a spike on the ball going past bat.
West Indies’ fall continued as Akeal Hosein under-edged to Pant off Krishna. But Jason Holder and Fabian Allen built a much-needed partnership of 78 off 91 balls for the eighth wicket. Allen dealt in fours off Siraj and Chahal while Holder was trading in sixes thrice off Chahal and once-off Shardul Thakur.
The partnership ended when Allen chipped the ball back to Sundar for a soft dismissal. By then, Holder had reached his fifty but, in an attempt to punch on the up, he was undone by extra bounce from Krishna and gave an outer edge to Pant. Chahal wrapped the innings as Alzarri Joseph holed out to long-on.
Brief scores: West Indies 176 all out in 43.5 overs (Jason Holder 57, Fabian Allen 29; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/49, Washington Sundar 3/30) against India
International
CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources
New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”
“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”
The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.
Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.
Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.
International
It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027
India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.
The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.
This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).
It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.
International
‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global
New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.
Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.
Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.
Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.
He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”
He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.
“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.
He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”
Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.
“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”
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