Home
Cricket News
Sa Vs Pak Mohammad Hafeez Set To Play 100 T20 Internationals But Icc Goofs Up On History

SA vs PAK | Mohammad Hafeez set to play 100 T20 internationals but ICC goofs up on history

Mohammad Hafeez is set to be only the second cricketer from Pakistan to play 100 T20I matches when South Africa will go head-on against the visitors in a four-match series starting April 10. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has stated that Hafeez will be the first Pakistani player to be playing his 100th T20Is (the tweet has been removed).

Instead, he will join his countryman Shoaib Malik, on the list that also has Rohit Sharma, Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan and Ross Taylor as players who have featured in 100 or more T20 international matches.

Hafeez has been around for quite some time, and although his success in the longer format of the game dwindled leading to him hanging up his boots, his bat has silenced his critics every now and then in the shortest format.

He has been in imperious touch with the bat in T20s on the tour of England last year and followed it up with another brilliant overseas tour of New Zealand.

He played a splendid knock of 99 not out against the Kiwis in the second T20I of the series albeit Pakistan could not defend the score. Earlier in 2020, he had plundered English bowlers to all parts of the grounds to hit 36-ball-69 and 52-ball-86 in the two matches of the three-match series.

Ahead of his 100th T20I against South Africa, Hafeez is aiming for a match-winning innings while if it turns out to be a century, it will be a ‘cherry on top.’

“A knock to help my side win the match would be amazing, there can’t be any better feeling than guiding your country to win and that too in an away game. A century on that occasion will be a cherry on top,” said Hafeez said in a virtual interaction with reporters from South Africa.

Hafeez will be eager to maintain his top-notch form with the bat in the series against South Africa as there are two T20 World Cups lined up to be played in the next two years.

Discover more

Personal milestones galore for MS Dhoni before CSK's opening game against Delhi Capitals

MS Dhoni is a bonafide legend in the history of the game, let alone the Indian Premier League. Now, as he is all set to feature in the 14th edition of the league, there are many records that MS Dhoni has ruled in his long career in the IPL. Dhoni has played as many as 204 IPL matches, the highest among all players to have played in the league. In his career, he has hit 209 sixes, which is the highest number of sixes hit by an Indian batsman and the third-highest overall in the IPL history. Out of those sixes, 23 sixes were hit for the Rising Pune Supergiants, and if he goes on to hit another 14 sixes this season, his account for the CSK will touch the 200 sixes-mark. Further, Dhoni, who has been known to be a superstar finisher in his career has 141 sixes against his name in the over between 17 to 20, which is the highest among any batsmen in the IPL. Also, on the overall runs scored, Dhoni is just 179 runs away from the iconic 7000 run-mark in the IPL. On the wicketkeeping front, Dhoni is just 2 dismissals away from affecting 150 dismissals— which will be the highest by any wicketkeeper in the history of the league. The Chennai Super Kings will start their campaign in the IPL 2021 against the Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on Saturday. The men in yellow will need Dhoni to come out all guns blazing after suffering a crumbling exit from the tournament last year.

IPL 2021: All officials entering Wankhede must produce COVID negative results

The second wave of COVID-19 has put extensive pressure on the organisers on how to cope with the situation and conduct the 14th edition of IPL without any fuss. After 10 ground staff and six event managers tested positive for the infection, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has come up with extensive rules and regulations in order to enter the Wankhede Stadium. MCA has asked its Apex Council Members to produce a COVID-19 negative certificate in order to eligible for entry in the Wankhede Stadium. The stadium is scheduled to hold 10 matches in the competition with the first match to be played between Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals later today, 10 April. "Dear Apex Council members. As per BCCI's protocol, all the officials who would be attending the IPL 2021 matches at Wankhede Stadium are required to produce a Negative report of RT-PCR test conducted within 48 hours of the matchday," MCA secretary Sanjay Naik, wrote in a note to all the members. The note further stated that the tests were mandatory even for the members who had already been vaccinated.

Watch: Shreyas Iyer’s emotional video to boost up DC ahead of their IPL 2021 opener

Delhi Capitals’ regular skipper Shreyas Iyer sent out an emotional video, backing the team in their pursuit of the elusive IPL title. Asking fans to back the players and the team starting with their opening game against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede tonight, Shreyas says, “We know it won’t be easy, but we know what it takes to raise the cup.” The 26-year-old, who was ruled out of this year’s IPL with a shoulder luxation further goes on to say that the team has worked harder than ever before and want to win games more than ever before. The Mumbai born eggs on the team as a voice representing millions of DC supporters saying, “We fight the same fight, we always did. The best is, we go beyond just a team. Make no mistakes about it, every game, every ball, you will have me in the corner as your loudest supporter, come on Delhi roar macha!” Capitals, who reached their first-ever IPL Finale last year, begin their 2021 campaign under new leader Rishabh Pant against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings, tonight, April 10 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

IPL 2021: Chris Lynn backs Rohit Sharma for his tactical moves against RCB

Chris Lynn who made his debut for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 14 curtain-raiser against Royal Challengers Bangalore backed his captain Rohit Sharma for keeping three of Jasprit Bumrah’s overs in the death. Rohit Sharma has always relied on Bumrah to give him important breakthrough in crucial junctures and he has his way of handling his bowlers in crucial phases of the match. Lynn said that Rohit ‘has a method to his madness' in context to his tactical moves during the opening encounter of IPL 14. "Rohit has been a very successful captain, so you got to back the captain and back the moves he makes," he said at the press conference after the conclusion of the opening match. "I think Bumrah is excellent in death overs, so he wanted to keep his overs at the back-end." "Rohit has a method to his madness, so at the end of the day, it (not using Bumrah against Maxwell early) wasn't a tactical error. Just that it was a skill error on our part," he added. Rohit Sharma has been the most successful IPL captain with five titles under his belt. Meanwhile, it must be noted that MI haven’t won any of their opening games in the competition since 2013. The defending champions in that regard will be in a good space after losing the first match which has been the case with them for several years now. However, they have managed to win five titles in that period. Coming back to the match, Rohit used just five bowlers during the course of the innings. Hardik Pandya who threw underarm from the deep on at least a couple of occasions wasn’t given the ball and it was perhaps due to a shoulder niggle which Lynn mentioned during the presser. "I think Hardik has a bit of shoulder niggle, but I'm not 100 per cent sure. The physios and the doctors will look after that if anything's wrong with Hardik. We missed the sixth bowler, but it's very early in the tournament, still a long way to go. But I do believe if Hardik is bowling, that brings in a lot of confidence in his batting and adds another dimension, not only to his game but also for us." Lynn, who was making his debut for the Mumbai Indians scored a brisk 49 but in the process ran out his skipper. He came in the XI as a replacement for Quinton de Kock who is currently serving a seven-day quarantine. "It was my first game for Mumbai, so obviously I was a bit nervous and I batted with Rohit for the first time as well. If I had been able to run past him and sacrifice my wicket, I definitely would have done it, but that wasn't the case. Running out my captain, it was my first game for Mumbai, well it could be my last, who knows. Happens in the game of cricket,” Lynn added. Riding on a brilliant knock from the blade of AB de Villiers, RCB huffed and puffed to their victory target of 160 in the final ball of the match. RCB who are looking for their elusive IPL title will look to continue the momentum in the coming matches.