SPORTS

The 2022 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will take place in Australia this year, and to take part in it, the 14-member Indian squad left for Australia from Mumbai on Thursday (October 6). The tournament will start on October 16 with the qualifying round matches, and then the Super 12s will kick off on October 22. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will play its first game against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in a repeat of last year’s T20 World Cup opener for both teams.

But the Indian team has left two weeks before the start of their T20 World Cup campaign to get acquainted with the Australian conditions well in advance. At least half of the Indian players selected for the T20 World Cup haven’t had experience of playing in Australia before, so to help them get used to the bounce there and get some good practice time, Indian team management have decided to travel there in advance.

Team India were dealt a body blow as pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the T20 World Cup owing to a stress reaction on his back, which will take him at least 4-6 weeks to recover fully. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday confirmed that Bumrah will miss the tournament.

Now, as per a report in the Times of India, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami is set to replace Bumrah in the T20 World Cup squad. Shami, who hasn't played a single T20I since the last T20 World Cup, was back in the fray for the Indian team from Australia series onwards. However, a positive COVID-19 Test delayed his return and after testing negative he is back in the nets training hard.

Suryakumar Yadav is a treat to watch every time he steps out in the middle. Sunday evening was no exception when Yadav lit up the ‘SKY’ in Guwahati at the Barsapara Stadium during the second T20I contest between India and South Africa. With Indian openers KL Rahul (57) and Rohit Sharma (43) giving India a solid start after having lost the toss, Yadav arrived to the scene with 107/2 on the scoreboard in 11.3 overs.

India needed to carry on the momentum in the middle overs and Suryakumar Yadav was up for the challenge. As the former Indian skipper Virat Kohli seemed content at the non-striker’s end in the first half of their explosive partnership, Yadav decided to go ballistic. The exciting cricketer smacked five maximums and as many boundaries in his 22-ball 61.

Team India will aiming to win the second T20I against South Africa and close out the three-match series. The second T20I between India and South Africa will be played on Sunday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Arshdeep Singh exhibited a tremendous show to earn an eight-wicket victory for his side. The young pacer picked up three wickets in the game and conceded 32 runs after completing his four overs. Batting first, the Proteas could only manage to register a paltry total of 106/8.

Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul stitched a solid partnership of 93 to reach the target with 20 balls to spare.

Babar Azam’s 87 guided Pakistan to 169/6 against England in the 6th T20 at Lahore on Friday.  Earlier, England won the toss and elected to bowl first. The hosts will look to seal the series with one match to go while the visitors will be looking to tie things up here and play the last match as a virtual final.

England XI: Philip Salt(w), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali(c), Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Richard Gleeson

Pakistan XI: Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Haris(w), Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Aamer Jamal, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shahnawaz Dahani