Connect with us
Monday,23-December-2024
Breaking News

International

U19 World Cup: Dhull, Rasheed shine as India thrash Australia, reach 4th final in a row

Published

on

An even-ball century by skipper Yash Dhull (110) and his 204-run partnership for the third wicket with Shaik Rasheed (94) set up India Under-19 for a 96-run victory against Australia in the semi-finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup.

India, the most successful nation in U19 Cricket World Cup history with four titles, thus reached the fourth successive final and will take on England in the summit clash. India last won the title in 2018 in the biennial event and had lost to Bangladesh in the final two years back.

Electing to bat first, India were in a spot of bother at 37/2 with both openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi (6) and Harnoor Singh (16) back in the pavilion. Skipper Dhull (110 off 110) and Rasheed (94 off 108) stitched together a majestic partnership of 204 runs to help the 2020 finalists reach 290/4 in 50 overs at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.

In reply, Australia U19 succumbed to the pressure created by the India U19 bowlers in the middle overs and lost their way despite a fighting half-century by Lachlan Shaw (51 off 66) to be eventually restricted to 194 all out in 41.5 overs, falling short by 96 runs.

Earlier, the Indian innings didn’t get off to the start skipper Dhull would have wanted as Raghuvanshi fell for a 30-ball six in the eighth over, with runs hard to come by in the Powerplay.

It was William Salzmann who picked up the early scalp, but Jack Nisbet was the most impressive bowler in the early stages, with his first six overs going for just 12 runs as India were put under huge pressure.

Nisbet got the reward for his tight spell with the wicket of the other opener Narnoor for 16, to leave India in a spot of bother on 37/2.

But that dismissal brought captain Dhull to the crease, ‘nd India didn’t look back, as the skipper and Rasheed patiently led the recovery and before upping the scoring rate significantly in a remarkable partnership.

The pair were still at the crease going into the final ten overs and with both approaching a century. Captain Dhull did get to that milestone before signaling his intent with a smoked six off the very next delivery. The 19-year-old fell in an unfortunate manner, run out backing up at the non-striker’s end for a majestic run-a-ball 110.

And Rasheed fell to the next ball, caught at backward-point just six runs short of his own century.

The double-blow threatened to slow what had looked set to be an explosive finish to the innings, with Rasheed’s dismissal leaving India at 241/4 with four overs remaining.

But Rajvardhan Hangargekar (13 off 10) and Nishant Sindhu (12 not out off 10) ensured that the runs kept flowing, before Dinesh Bana (20 not out) finished the innings in style, hitting two sixes and two fours off the four deliveries he faced. Bana’s late cameo helped India reach 290/5, with 27 runs coming off the final over.

India’s innings was one of two distinct halves, with just 86 runs coming off a testing first 25 overs, and then 204 runs ransacked off the second 25, according to a report on ICC’s official website.

Australia’s hopes of reaching the target of 291 to set up a final against England suffered a big early blow when in-form opener Teague Wyllie was trapped in front in just the second over of the reply.

Wyllie had scored significantly at the top of the order in all three of Australia’s previous wins at the tournament, but his dismissal didn’t immediately seem to knock the team’s confidence, with Campbell Kellaway (30) and Corey Miller (38) scoring at a reasonable pace through the following 15 overs in a partnership worth 68.

However, India’s main threat was always expected to be their quality spin attack, and so it proved, with part-timer Raghuvanshi fooling Miller with a clever change of pace, and Vicky Ostwal picking up the scalp of Kellaway six balls later.

Wickets fell at regular intervals from there on, as India’s spinners took the game away from Australia, with only Lachlan Shaw surviving for any significant length of time for a hard-fought 51.

But with Shaw at risk of running out of partners, he went on the attack after reaching his half-century, bottom-edging a big heave onto his stumps to become the ninth wicket to fall.

And India sealed their spot in Saturday’s final with a runout, as a mix-up between Tom Whitney (19 off 17) and number eleven Jack Nisbet left the former stranded.

Brief scores:
India U19 290/5 in 50 overs (Yash Dhull 110, Shaik Rasheed 94; Jack Nisbet 2/41, William Salzmann 2/57) beat Australia U19 194 in 41.5 overs (Lachlan Shaw 51, Corey Miller 38; Vicky Ostwal 3/42, Nishant Sindhu 2/25, Ravi Kumar 2/37).

International

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

International

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

International

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

Published

on

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.”

Continue Reading

Trending