International
U-19 World Cup: All-round India outclass England; clinch record-extending 5th title
Riding on half-centuries by Nishant Sindhu and Shaik Rasheed and clinical bowling performances from Raj Bawa and Ravi Kumar, India clinched a record-extending 5th U-19 World Cup title after beating England by four wickets in the final of the 2022 edition of the tournament at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, here on Saturday.
This is India’s record fifth title in the tournament’s history and came after previously winning it in 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018. The Yash Dhull-led India U19 finished the tournament with an unbeaten run in the West Indies, flaunting the strength of the assembly line of Next-Gen India cricketers.
With this, Dhull joins the illustrious list of captains — Mohammad Kaif (2000), Virat Kohli (2008), Unmukt Chand (2012), Prithvi Shaw (2018) — who have lifted the U19 trophy for India in the past.
A superb bowling performance by Raj Bawa (5/31) and Ravi Kumar (4/34) helped India bowl out England for 189 despite a fighting fifty by James Rew (95). In reply, Shaik Rasheed (50 off 84) and Nishant Sindhu (50 not out off 54) smashed fifties while Raj Bawa (35 off 54) also played a vital knock and helped India chase the target in 47.4 overs, with four wickets in hand.
Chasing a challenging target, India were off to a poor start as left-arm pacer Joshua Boyden removed Angkrish Raghuvanshi for zero in the very second delivery of the innings. After losing Raghuvanshi early, Shaikh Rasheed and Harnoor Singh didn’t take too many risks and batted cautiously. The duo took India to 33/1 after 10 overs as England used three bowlers, including captain Tom Prest, in the first powerplay.
From there on, England dried the runs up by bowling some disciplined overs and backed that up with solid efforts in fielding. It was Thomas Aspinwall who gave England the big breakthrough by dismissing opener Harnoor Singh with an unplayable bouncer and ending a 49-run stand for the 2nd wicket.
Captain Yash Dhull, who played a match-winning knock of 110 runs against Australia in the semi-final, then joined vice-captain Rasheed at the crease. The asking rate was not too much but India were under a bit of pressure after that slow start. But Dhull and Shaikh Rasheed showed great composure and added runs quickly.
Rasheed, who took his time during the partnership with Harnoor, was more proactive between the two as he got to his fifty in 83 balls. However, he couldn’t carry his innings longer and got out to James Sales while going for a big hit. Soon, Sales dismissed Yash Dhull for 17 and helped England claw back in the match with India at 97 for 4 in 28.4 overs.
From there on, Raj Bawa and Nishant Sindhu joined hands to bail India out of the tricky situation. Both Bawa and Sindhu looked in solid touch and scored at a brisk rate, taking India closer to the target. It took 40 overs for India to hit their first six as Rehan Ahmed was launched over the long-on boundary by Nishant Sindhu, who hit the first six of the second innings to bring his 50-run partnership with Bawa.
With India needing 44 runs in the last 60 balls, Bawa changed gears and smashed a six and a four to turn things in India’s favour. In continuation of his aggressive batting, Bawa hit the ball straight to the mid-on fielder and departed after scoring 35 from 54 balls. However, Nishant Sindhu kept his nerves and hit a superb fifty, putting India on the cusp of victory. It was Raj Bawa — the star of the day– who hit a couple of sixes and took India over the victory line in style.
Earlier, England won the toss and opted to bat first, but they were off to a terrible start as they lost Jacob Bethell (2) in the second over of the innings. Bethell played for an in-swing but the ball bowled by Ravi Kumar kept its line and the England opener was trapped plumb in front of the wicket.
Captain Tom Prest, who came to bat first, didn’t trouble the scorers and got out a duck. He was also dismissed by Ravi Kumar, who bowled a short delivery and Prest dragged the ball onto the stumps, leaving England to 18-2 after 3.3 overs. Thereafter, George Thomas, who was playing counter-attacking shots looking to rebuild England’s innings along with James Rew after two early blows.
During the process, Kaushal Tambe dropped a straightforward catch at first slip as Thomas survived and Raj Bawa, the first change bowler, was denied a wicket.
However, the drop didn’t cost India that much as Bawa dismissed the dangerous Thomas for 27. Opener Thomas looked to put pressure on Bawa by hitting across the line in the first delivery of the 11th over but he got a leading edge and was caught inside the 30-yard circle.
Continuing his dreamy bowling spell, Raj Bawa soon got rid of Will Luxton and George Bell in two consecutive deliveries of the 13th over as England were five down for 47 runs. Things were not looking good for England; it got worse when Bawa picked his fourth wicket of the match, dismissing Rehan Ahmed (10), who edged the ball straight to the slips and Kaushal Tambe made no mistake.
Wickets were falling from one end but James Rew was holding the fort for England amid all the carnage. He along with Alex Horton hit a few much-needed boundaries and stitched a 30-run stand for the seventh wicket before the latter got out to spinner Kaushal Tambe for 10 in the 25th over of the innings.
At 91-7, it looked like England would get bowled out for a lower total but James Rew and James Sales stitched a solid partnership for the 8th wicket. Rew mixed aggression with caution and found the gaps with ease, scoring his fifty in 79 balls. He was well supported by Sales from the other end as the duo took England to 147/5 after 35 overs. On the other hand, India were looking desperate for a wicket as skipper Yash Dhull made multiple bowling changes.
It was Ravi Kumar, who brought India back into the game by taking two quick wickets in the 44th over. He first got rid of James Rew, who played a fantastic knock of 95, snapping a 93-run stand for the 8th wicket and then removed lower-order batter Thomas Aspinwall for a duck.
Raj Bawa then dismissed Joshua Boyden to take his five-fer as England were bowled out for 189 after 44.5 overs. James Sales remained not out after scoring 34 off 65.
Brief scores: England U-19: 189 all out in 44.5 overs (James Rew 95, James Sales 34; Raj Bawa 5/31, Ravi Kumar 4/34) lost to India U-19: 195-6 in 47.4 overs (Shaik Rasheed 50, Nishant Sindhu 50; Joshua Boyden 2/24) by four wickets
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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