SPORTS

England kept their nerve to become the first team to reach the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022 final after edging a thriller with Afghanistan by 15 runs. Spinner Rehan Ahmed became the hero for the Young Lions, taking three wickets in the penultimate over at crucial point when their opponents needed just 18 runs from the last 10 balls.

England will now face the winner of the other semi between Australia and India on Saturday in the final - a remarkable turnaround from the previous tournament just two years ago in South Africa when they finished ninth. As for Afghanistan they will head to the Coolidge Cricket Ground for the third-place playoff.

England end 24-year wait to return to the final despite brave Afghanistan effort. Rain delayed the first of the two Super League semi-finals at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground after England won the toss and chose to bat.

Virat Kohli gave up Team India captaincy altogether when he stepped down as the Test captain post India's 2-1 series loss to Dean Elgar-led South Africa, early this year. Earlier, BCCI had already sacked Kohli as the ODI captain whereas he had himself announced his resignation as the shortest format's captain after the World Cup in the UAE last year. Kohli had made the announcement prior to the showpiece event.

A lot has been said and written on Kohli giving up India captaincy altogether. His decision to quit as the Test captain shocked many as his record as a leader in whites is second to none (among former Team India skippers). The 33-year-old spilled the beans on his decision and cited an example of his predecessor MS Dhoni.

"See, I think firstly you need to have a complete understanding of what you set out to achieve and whether you have achieved those targets or not. Everything has a tenure and time period, so you have to be aware of it. As a batter, you might be able to give more to the team, so take pride in that," said Kohli on an episode of 'Fireside Chat with VK'. 

KL Rahul has established himself as one of the key members of the Indian cricket team across all three formats.

His international career has seen a massive turnaround in the last one year. At the start of 2021, he was not sure if his place in the starting XI was secure or not but things turned out in such a way that by the end of the year he was tasked with leading the side against South Africa.

From being included in the side as a back-up opener for England tour to becoming the first-choice opener across all formats, the Karnataka batter couldn’t have wished for things to unfold any better. 

Team India pacer Mohammed Shami slammed the poor form and display by the Indian batters on the recent tour of South Africa. The leading Indian fast bowler felt that Team India's batting was 'bit loose' at time.

Shami was the leading wicket-taker for India in the three-match series which the visitors lost 2-1, claiming 14 wickets at an average of 21. He admitted in an interview to The Telegraph newspaper that batting was loose in the series and team suffered because of that.

"Yes, our batting may have been a bit loose at times, due to which the team has suffered in South Africa", Shami said in an interview to The Telegraph.

The BCCI has named the 18-man squads for the upcoming West Indies series which will have three ODIs and as many T20Is. As expected, Kuldeep Yadav makes a comeback into the national side, while young leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi was also included. Also, Deepak Hooda was the surprise inclusion in the side who was last part of India setup back in 2017. Meanwhile, pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami both are rested from the series; KL Rahul will only be available from second ODI onwards. R Jadeja is undergoing his final stage of recovery post his knee injury and will not be available for the ODIs and T20Is.