T20 World Cup: Australia Edge Out South Africa On Better Net Run-Rate To Enter Semi Final In Group-1, India Await The Afghani Verdict!

Australia beat the West Indies by 8 wickets and ensuring a better net run-rate ousted South Africa even as the latter beat England, ending their unbeaten streak. In the crucial last match in Group-1 for Australia in Abu Dhabi today, the defending Champions West Indies, for whom the match was of no consequence after being eliminated owing to their loss against the already-ousted Sri Lanka, came out with the right intentions of playing for respect put into bat; but after a few lusty shots by Gayle the same old story unfolded as three wickets fell in quick succession. Chris Gayle, the oldest playing international cricketer at 42 years of age, made only 15 in probably his last appearance in international cricket. A partnership promised to grow between Evin Lewis and Hetmyer, but Lewis getting out for 29 at the team score of 70 ended that. A partnership again seemed to bloom between Pollard and Bravo, but it happened to be only a brief one. Captain Pollard (44), this time, stuck on and helping his team post a respectable total, and Andre Russell remaining not out at 18 off 7 balls hit two lusty sixes in the last two balls as his team crossed the 150-run mark and posted a target of 158 runs for Australia which is a fighting one, but fell short of perhaps by at least 20 more runs. Russell finally seemed to find his touch, but unfortunately he was sent in this time a tad too late. For Australia, fast bowler Josh Hazelwood captured 4 wickets for 39 runs with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa taking one each.

 

The key to the disastrous performance of the West Indies in this ICC Men’s T20 World Cup-2021 is the consistent failures with the bat of their all-time greats like Gayle, Pollard, Russell and Bravo, the latter coming out of his announced retirement to play for repeating national glory. Almost in every innings, it fell on the shoulders of Hetmyer to do some repairs to the nearly irreparable damage done by the top order. Their bowlers too did nothing in particular to put the oppositions under pressure and were freely hit around most of the time. The once-mighty West Indies, known for their fiery fast bowlers in particular, managed to beat only the down-and-out Bangladesh who lost all their matches.

 

Dwayne John Bravo got out after making only 10 runs and perhaps we had seen the last time he came in to bat; he also made emphatic goodbye signs as Christopher Henry Gayle did earlier to the viewers. Bravo remains as the highest wicket taker in T20 internationals at 553 wickets. For a rather ironical goodbye Gayle took the wicket of Marsh when Australia were just one run away from victory. At the end of the match every player on the field embraced Gayle and Bravo warmly. Sad moments indeed! Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi recorded these moments forever as a live witness.

 

Australia with 6 points, after a deadly blow from England, bounced back strongly routing Bangladesh completely and knew their job well against the West Indies: to win the match with a good margin of victory so that it becomes impossible for South Africa, also with 6 points, to overcome the former’s net run-rate even if even they win against England in their last encounter later today. With today’s win Australia made it sure that they occupy the second spot indeed. The total of 157/7 finally offered by the West Indies was not intimidating enough for the professional Aussies. David Warner (89 not out off 56 balls) clicked for the second time in the tournament, and he along with Mitchell Marsh (53 off 32 balls) put up a 124-run partnership taking the match away from the West Indies, and more importantly kept up the run-rate momentum despite the relatively early loss of Captain Finch at the team score of 33 runs. And Australia won by 8 wickets at 161/2 with 20 balls to spare, further improving their net run-rate.

 

Now, over to Sharjah for the second crucial match. South Africa was desperate for a semi-final berth facing perhaps the impossible task having not only to win against England but win by a significant margin to overcome Australia’s net run-rate (for example, if SA score 200 runs, they’ll have to win by a margin of 67 runs), and as a dampener their captain Temba Bavuma lost the toss to Eoin Morgan and was, expectedly put into bat. South Africa fielded an unchanged team while England replaced an injured left-arm fast bowler Tymal Mills with right-arm fast bowler Mark Wood. South Arica needed to post a huge total on board and indeed had a splendid start despite the early loss of Hendricks thanks to a blooming partnership between the now-knee-taking de Kock and Van Der Dussen. But it was cut short when de Kock fell to Adil Rashid at the team score of 86/2 in the 12th over. Moeen Ali consumed the first wicket. A definitive  rollicking partnership between a brilliant Dussen (94 not out off 60 balls) and Aiden Markram (52 not out in 25 balls) helped South Africa post a challenging total of 189/2, their highest of the tournament and the highest by any team against England in the round-robin stage. However, the margin of victory that has to be at least 60 runs if they win was the point of concern. For the first time England showed chinks in their armor through too many loose deliveries and rare misfields.  

Chasing the highest target of 190 runs so far in the tournament England got off to a solid start putting up 50 in 5 overs with Jason Roy retiring hurt after scoring 20 quick runs even as South Africa started the attack with Spinner Maharaj straightaway. South Africa tasted the first blood as Buttler, fresh from his century in the previous match against Sri Lanka, fell to Nortje for 26 in 15 balls. Shortly after South Africa got a huge wicket as Bairstow was out LBW to spinner Shamsi, England reduced to 59/2 in the 7th over. With good contributions by Moeen Ali (37), Dawid Malan (33)  and Livingstone (28) England crossed the magic figure of 131 runs thus ousting South Africa from the World Cup, and the latter's frustration could be felt in their body language as Rabada who, unfortunately, could not pose any threat to England batsmen was hit for three consecutive sixes by Livingstone in the 16th over. As England wickets fell in quick succession at the death South Africa finally won the match by 10 runs with none other than Rabada achieving a hat-trick. Brave South Africa gave a tremendous fight, but finally lost out on the net run-rate race with all three teams of England, Australia and South Africa ending with 8 points each. 

England have retained their top spot, but this defeat and the probable loss of Jason Roy due to injury may hurt them just before the elimination stage starting 10th of November. Australia is most likely to meet Pakistan in the semi-final unless the latter lose to Scotland tomorrow. Whom England is going to meet in the semi-final will also be decided tomorrow unless New Zealand lose to Afghanistan. 

 

For India in Group-2, everything depends on Afghanistan spinners delivering a death blow to New Zealand in the encounter tomorrow. In the improbable scenario of New Zealand losing, if the little tottering displayed by them against Namibia was any indication, India would exactly know what to do as they’ll be playing the last Gropu-2 match on Monday against Namibia, because in that case they’ll be locked with New Zealand in terms of points and the net run-rate would come into consideration. As per the requirements India have demonstrated glorious cricket in the last two matches against Afghanistan and Scotland, routing them in incredibly one-sided encounters, as if finally abandoning their ‘death wish’ after being struck with the two near-fatal death-blows in their first two matches by Pakistan and New Zealand. At the moment India is the top team in Group-2 in terms of net run-rate. Whatever happens finally, the NZ Vs Afg match is set to generate one of the highest TRPs, perhaps after the India-Pakistan match, tomorrow. Hope the rampant betting, a usual occurrence particularly during the IPL tournaments, does not come out victorious.

Cricket New Normal: IPL Extravaganza To Hit The Screens From 19th September!

The 13^th version of the Twenty20 cricket extravaganza, the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020), is set to unfold from 19^thSeptember 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The 53-day long tournament would see around 70 matches including practice matches during the period; the afternoon matches would start at 3.30 pm IST and evening matches at 7.30 pm IST. The matches are to be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Eight teams or franchises will take part in the tournament: Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore.  The IPL Governing Council under the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has recently announced Dream11, an Indian company based in Mumbai, as the title sponsor of the IPL 2020 thanks to the exit of the erstwhile title sponsor Vivo, a Chinese concern. As per news reports available it has almost been decided not to have real spectators for the mega event, because officials of both the countries have found it too risky to have crowds inside the stadiums in view of the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, as is known from reports, there would instead be huge LED screens in the stadiums that can connect the fans from various places where they can watch the live action and take part in the proceedings. Apart from those screens the matches would hit the small television screens across the globe as per arrangements of live telecast by the BCCI with Star Sports.

The IPL 2020 teams had started arriving at different venues in UAE from the 20^th of August 2020 thanks to the strict COVID-19 norms and new normal cricket rules. Members of the teams arriving in Dubai were isolated at their hotel rooms for 7 days during which they were required to undergo three COVID tests, and only after being proven negative in the final test would they be allowed to go for the practice sessions. On the other hand, teams arriving in Abu Dhabi were being quarantined in hotels for 14 days as per the COVID protocol applicable there which reportedly upset a few members of the teams. This brings us to the issue of different protocols followed in different venues.

Protocols followed in Abu Dhabi are stricter due to the Coronavirus situation, and there are travel restrictions too between Abu Dhabi and Dubai or Sharjah. For example, players traveling form Dubai or Sharjah to Abu Dhabi would be required to undergo quick COVID tests at the internal border and only after being proved negative would they be allowed to enter the city. Cricket administrators have found this particular restriction not at all compatible with the demanding situation on match days. And, because of this vexing issue the BCCI has not been able so far to fix and announce the match schedule. As per reports the Board or the IPL Governing Council has been mulling dividing the tournament into two legs: most of the matches in the first leg being played in Dubai and Sharjah where restrictions are relaxed a bit, and the remaining matches in Abu Dhabi in the second leg.

Although the match schedule has not yet been announced in the official IPL website, an inadvertent tweet by Rohit Sharma, captain of the defending Champions Mumbai Indians, where he paid rich tributes to MS Dhoni, captain of Chennai Super Kings and who retired from international cricket recently, before facing him in the first match revealed that the first match of the tournament could be played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, but no clue as yet to the venue.

Cricket fans and revelers in India are waiting eagerly for the new normal IPL 2020 unfold in their homes in all grandeur and glitz from the 19^thof September 2020 to November 10 when the ultimate final is to be played. Since the tournament had been taken out of India, for the second time in IPL history, this would mean no traveling to the UAE for Indian fans. Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin had left his team and joined Delhi Capitals, and Chris Gayle, after undergoing two COVID-19 tests and proven negative, had arrived in Dubai to join his team Kings XI Punjab. 

ICC Cricket World Cup-2019: When The Umpire Wanted Gayle Out!

Photo: espncricinfo.com 

The headline above is not an allegation, it’s only an observation based on hard facts. However, this observation reflects badly on the umpiring standards in the biggest cricket event of the world.  We had recently seen ludicrous umpiring errors in Indian Premiere League-2019. ICC Cricket World Cup can hardly be compared with the former, and we fervently hope that standards would improve as this was just the first week of the tournament.

It all happened in the 10^th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup-2019 at Trent Bridge, England between Australia and West Indies. Winning the toss West Indies put Australia into bat, reduced them to 79 for 5 thanks to fiery spells by Thomas and Cortrell that reminded us of the likes of Malcolm Marshall & Co of yore, and as was their wont, West Indies let go allowing the Aussies to amass 288. Still, it was not an impossible target, and West Indies seemed to be cruising nicely with Hope and Heitmyer going great guns. Again, as Caribbean old habits die hard, the batsmen snatched defeat from victory, preferring to go only for the big shots without any kind of pressure. And, they lost by a mere 15 runs. Now, back to our point of concern.

Only in the third over of the match Aussie pacer Starc appealed for a caught behind against Chris Gayle, and the umpire upheld it. Gayle was never known to have shown disrespect or mistrust in umpiring in his strikingly aggressive career, and never sulked after adverse decisions. Therefore, when he shook his head implying that there was no snick and asked for the DRS it was very believable and genuine. The review proved that the ball never touched the bat, and in fact, could have brushed against the off stump without dislodging the bails. Gayle won the DRS. In the same over Starc again appealed for an LBW, and the umpire promptly upheld it while this writer watching television live telecast could clearly see that the ball was veering away from the leg stump. Gayle raised his eyebrows in wonder and asked for the second DRS. The review showed how the ball was missing the leg stump by quite a big margin. Gayle won his second DRS and also opened up with his breathtaking shots. Perhaps, some people who mattered sulked.

The umpire and Starc combined all over again. The appeal was for an LBW with the umpire raising his finger immediately. This time Gayle looked a little bewildered, and asked for his third DRS. The review was not lost yet again, but since the ball was in line and seemed to have struck the top edge of the leg stump the umpire’s decision had to be upheld. And Gayle departed. He was allowed to score only 20 runs.

And then, the real explosion came. Later replays showed that the ball prior to the one that got Gayle out was a no ball by a big leap, but the same umpire never seemed to notice it. Therefore, the ball that got Gayle out finally was a free-hit ball where no batsman could ever get out.

The above observations do not intend to take away credit due to Starc who had a five-wicket haul thanks to consistent pace, line and length, and to Australian captain Finch who showed a thoroughly professional approach making West Indies play into their plans.

The other highlights of the first week, positively, included England, Bangladesh and India beating a beleaguered South Africa in their respective openers where mention must be made about Bangladesh’s aggression and the quality of both batting and bowling; West Indies routing Pakistan, and then Pakistan beating hot favourites England showing precision batting, bowling and fielding, and the fact that no mention by anybody was made as to why England offered batting opportunity to Pakistan on a platter, as the pitch was full of runs and the hosts were full of confidence; valiant Bangladesh losing in a tight match against New Zealand and Sri Lanka managing to register their first win over Afghanistan by a narrow margin.  

With the round-robin league in operation ICC Cricket World Cup-2019 promises to be a fierce battle between nations upholding their national pride and belief. Each one of the ten teams is capable of scripting history—one cannot even write off South Africa and Sri Lanka as yet. We only hope no cricketer suffers like Chris Gayle did in the exciting days of the tournament ahead. India has big matches coming up—against Australia on 9^th June, against New Zealand on 13^th June and the ultimate one against Pakistan on 16^th June.

Gaylestorm Gone, Hurricane Gayle Now!

Watching Chris Gayle in action the thought often comes to our mind, what will happen if he gets just uncontrollable like the unstoppable bullet train or the speeding bus! That’s exactly what happened yesterday, the 23^rd of April 2013, in Bangalore in his team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)’s match against Pune Warriors during the on-going Indian Premiere League—2013 (IPL-6). His bulldozing yet effortless shots all around the park created world records not just for IPL or T20 Cricket, but also for the world of cricket.

Gayle raced to his century in just 30 balls, a world record in all formats of cricket. He hit 13 fours and 17 huge sixes in his unbeaten knock. His tally of 17 sixes created another world record in all formats of the game, and RCB had also achieved a new high of 23 team sixes in a match. He did not seem to end his innings at 175, but the allotted 20 overs were over by then. This became the highest individual score ever in the history of T20 cricket. He helped his team reach a total of 263—the highest ever team score in the history of T20 cricket. In fact, Gayle has also completed a century with the help of sixes only (17 * 6= 102!). By then the result of the match was a forgone conclusion with the hapless Pune Warriors losing by a huge margin of 130 runs. Gayle already holds an IPL record of scoring four big hundreds.

Chris Gayle’s unbelievable knock of 175 in 66 balls created ripples throughout the world of cricket. India captain and T20 specialist MS Dhoni got overwhelmed by the superlative display of flawless batting. Darren Sammy, the WestIndiescaptain, had reportedly expressed his ecstasy saying Gayle was “not human, he’s a tsunami mixed with a nuclear bomb”. Yes, he is definitely Hurricane Gayle. His knock assumes great significance in IPL-6 where most of the matches played so far are low-scoring and choked with the bowlers enjoying an edge and achieving several hattricks already.

It is another wonder that despite having a player like Chris Gayle as the opener RCB has not been able yet to lift the title or rather any kind of T20 Championship titles, though they have proved to be the most consistent team in IPL reaching the knockout or semis stage several times.

But then, IPL-6is not even halfway through, only 33 match have been played and in all there are 76 scheduled matches. With the participation of many greats and veterans this extravaganza of money spinning tournament has invariably managed to inject some amount of genuine cricket too. By the way, today India cricket giant Sachin Tendulkar turns 40. Wishing him a Happy Birthday the cricket-crazy nation must be geared up to see some fascinating cricket from the little master in the rest of the IPL-6 matches.