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Opportunity for Finch to end limited-overs series against Pakistan on a high

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His inconsistent form persisting, Australia’s limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch will look to end the series on a high when the tourists take on Pakistan in the one-off T20 International here later on Tuesday.

Pakistan, after losing the Test series 0-1 to Australia, staged a remarkable fight-back in the ODI series, winning 2-1. And, the Babar Azam-led side would be hoping to avenge the ICC T20 World Cup semifinal loss to the tourists in the UAE last year when they clash at the Gaddafi Stadium in the D/N game.

Australia’s inexperienced and new-look side means that only three of their winning T20 World Cup XI are available for the one-off T20I. The most experienced of them is of course Finch, who has been plagued by patchy form, having registered scores of 23, 0 and 0 in the ODI series.

However, Travis Head and Ben McDermott’s recent form lends positivity to the side, with Marcus Stoinis expected to shoulder additional responsibility in the middle order in the absence of limited-overs specialists Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh. Adam Zampa, the sixth-ranked T20I bowler, could be Australia’s trump card against a star-studded Pakistan.

The hosts have been in sublime T20I form of late, having defeated Bangladesh and the West Indies 3-0 each post the T20 World Cup. Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan, the top-two ranked batters on the ICC T20I rankings, form the backbone of the line-up that features seasoned power-hitters Fakhar Zaman, Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah.

Pacer Shaheen Afridi leads the bowling unit, to go with Haris Rauf’s incisive pace and the skilled spin-bowling expertise of Shadab Khan, who could return after injury kept him out of the One-dayers.

The last T20I clash between the two teams — the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 semifinal in Dubai — turned out to be a thriller, culminating in Australia securing a place in the final and going on to win their maiden title.

Unbeaten till that point in the competition, Pakistan put up 176/4 after being put in to bat, with Rizwan (67 off 52), Zaman (55 not out from 32) and Babar (39 off 34) being the chief contributors.

Australian opener David Warner and Mitchell Marsh got the chase going after Finch fell for a first-ball duck, before Shadab spun a web to reduce Australia to 96/5 in the 13th over, leaving 81 required off 46. Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade brought it down to 20 off 10 with some quality strokes, before the latter was shelved by Hasan Ali at deep midwicket to add to the drama.

Wade struck three sixes in a row to seal the deal for Australia — a blitz reminiscent of Michael Hussey’s in the 2009 edition semifinal in St. Lucia. Three days later, Australia defeated New Zealand at the same venue to lift their maiden T20 World Cup title.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam credited his players for the turnaround in the ODI series after losing the first game.

“You need confidence after losing the first game. The credit goes to the players as they took responsibility and showed good efforts with the ball and the bat. There is pressure but you should back your game. I try to take most of the pressure and back my boys,” said Azam.

Aaron Finch said he saw lots of positives despite the ODI series loss. “I thought there were a lot more positives than negatives (in the ODI series). It was just that we were on the receiving end of a couple of great knocks from Babar and Imam. It’s been amazing to play here in Pakistan in front of some great fans. They’ve been supportive of great cricket regardless of whether it’s Australia playing well or Pakistan. So we’re very thankful for that,” said Finch.

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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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.

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It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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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.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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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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