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Smat 2021 Karnataka Vidarbha Kerala Register Quarter Final Spots

SMAT 2021: Karnataka, Vidarbha, Kerala register quarter-final spots

Vidarbha, Kerala and Karnataka marched ahead in the quarter final stage of the on-going Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. While Vidarbha defeated Maharashtra by 7 wickets, Kerala thumped Himachal Pradesh by 8 wickets and Karnataka clinched a two-wicket win against Saurashtra in a close encounter.

Maharashtra vs Vidarbha

Batting first, Maharashtra lost an early wicket after Naushad Shaikh was trapped in front of the stumps by Yash Thakur for a golden duck. But opener Yash Nahar and Rahul Tripathi steadied the ship for the side and stitched a stand of 64 runs for the second wicket.

Maharashtra then lost Nahar for a 25-ball 29 which certainly broke the shackles and the side lost wickets at regular intervals to score 157/8 in 20 overs despite Tripathi’s 66 off 45.

For Vidarbha, Thakur scalped a three-fer for 17 runs in 4 overs.

Later, Vidarbha too had a dismal beginning to the chase as they lost Siddhesh Wath on the third delivery of the innings but a fine piece of batting from Atharva Taide and Akshay Wadkar got them back in the game.

The two batsmen put 96 runs for the second wicket and also notched up individual fifties during the course. Later, a late surge from Jitesh Sharma anchored the side to a win by 7 wickets with more than two overs to spare. Jitesh struck an unbeaten 28 off 7 deliveries.

Himachal Pradesh vs Kerala

Kerala rode on some brilliant batting display from Mohammed Azharuddeen and Sanju Samson to chase down a target of 146 runs by 8 wickets in the last over.

While Azharuddeen struck 60 off 57 balls, Samson chipped in with a quick-fire and unbeaten 39-ball 52 to see the side home.

Earlier, in the day, Himachal Pradesh didn’t really get into the groove and lost wickets in regular succession to get restricted to 145/6 in 20 overs. Opener Raghav Dhawan though scored 65 off 52.

Karnataka vs Saurashtra

Karnataka had a few hiccups against Saurashtra while chasing a target of 146 but it was brilliance from Abhinav Manohar with the bat who held his nerves and struck an unbeaten 70 off 49 deliveries to take his side over the line.

Karnataka batsmen never really got into the groove and kept losing wickets regularly before but Manohar held the fort at one end to help his side clinch a win by 2 wickets on the penultimate delivery.

For Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat returned with figures of 4/22 in his 4 overs. Earlier, Saurashtra managed to put 145/7 in 20 overs, courtesy a half-century from Sheldon Jackson.

The quarter-final fixtures will now be played on Thursday.

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India to host 2026 T20 World Cup, 2031 ODI WC, Pakistan gets hosting rights of 2025 Champions Trophy

In a major announcement by the International Cricket Council, the hosting rights from 2024- 2031 have been made public and India will be hosting two World Cups and a Champions Trophy. While the T20 World Cup of 2026 will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka together, India will host the 2029 Champions Trophy individually and then share the hosting rights for the 2031 ODI World Cup with Bangladesh. Among the other big news is world cricket coming back to Pakistan after a gap of 29 years as the South Asian nation has been handed the right to individually host the Champions trophy for 2025. This would also be the first edition of the Champions Trophy since 2017 which was won by Pakistan itself so as a matter of fact, they would also be the defending Champions. This would be the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy overall. Among other surprising news was the United States of America, Namibia and Scotland, three Associate members of the ICC getting hosting rights of the World Cups. The USA will be the co-host of the 2024 T20 World Cup alongside West Indies, it is also to boost ICC's bid to get Cricket into Olympics which will be bid for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028. Namibia will also co-host a World Cup, but it would be the ODI World Cup of 2027 alongside South Africa and Zimbabwe. By getting Zimbabwe and Namibia to host the T20 World Cup, ICC has given an indication that it is going to move away from its 10 team format for the ODI World Cup which has been in place since the 2019 edition. Scotland will be hosting a world event for the first time in 31 years as it has been chosen as the host for the 2030 edition of the T20 World Cup alongside England, Ireland and Scotland. New Zealand will be getting the hosting rights of a T20 World Cup for the first time when it hosts the 2028 edition of the tournament. Major Tournaments and Hosts 2024 T20 World Cup: USA, West Indies 2025 Champions Trophy: Pakistan 2026 T20 World Cup: India, Sri Lanka 2027 ODI World Cup: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia 2028 T20 World Cup: Australia, NZ 2029 Champions Trophy: India 2030 T20 World Cup: England, Ireland, Scotland 2031 ODI World Cup: India, Bangladesh

Rahul Dravid rules out prioritising T20Is over other formats, different teams for different formats

There have been talks of the need to prioritise the shortest format of the game in the aftermath of India’s early exit from the T20 World Cup and it was expected by some that the new leadership group comprising of Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and KL Rahul will bring about sweeping changes to focus on T20 cricket in order to prepare for the next edition of the world cup schooled only next year. However, Dravid has outrightly rejected the idea of promoting one format over another and instead suggested that Team India will adjust to the realm and challenges of all three formats. He pointed out that all the three formats have their major events scheduled in the next few years and hence choosing one over another can be counterproductive. “No there won't be any prioritising of formats. We have T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup then also World Test Championship,” said Dravid during his first press conference as India’s head coach. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, players have had to endure most of their playing times inside biosecure bubbles and the outgoing coach Ravi Shastri had highlighted that players were “physically and mentally drained”. He had also attributed the team’s poor performance to the fatigue of players and it reignited the debate of putting the mental health of players as an important agenda for the team management. It was suggested by one school of thought that India could opt for a separate bunch of players for each format that will enable players to be free of fatigue. Dravid did not overlook the challenges and accepted the mental health of players as a priority but at the same time ruled out fielding different sides in different formats of the game. “We are not looking at having separate teams. Of course, there are individuals who play only in certain formats. We must look at players' mental health... these are challenging times, especially for those who play every format. I will certainly look at this.” “You have to strike a balance... you cannot neglect the long term future of players and their mental health. You have to focus on winning now but you also have to look at the long term effects. Striking a balance is important... that's my job as a coach.” “Workload management is an important aspect of cricket. We see that in football too. The mental and physical well being of players will be a priority. We need to do a balancing act, have to work towards having players fit for the big tournaments.” “Yes, workload management is important. Players aren't machines. We want all our players fresh for the challenges ahead. It's very simple, we have to monitor every series we play.” Dravid is starting his full time coaching role with the Indian side with Rohit Sharma, who made his international debut under his captaincy way back in the year 2007. Dravid commended the “special talent” Rohit and credited him for maintaining his game for a longstanding career at the top. “I knew from the start that Rohit is a special talent. Never imagined we'd be working in these roles together all these years later... he's a huge credit to the game. Carrying the legacy of Indian and Mumbai cricket isn't easy and he's done that with class,” Dravid praised Rohit. The T20I and Test series against New Zealand is the first of many challenges that Dravid will have to face as the coach of the Indian Team and he is not at all treating the Blackcaps as “underdogs” for their brilliant record against India in the last few years, especially in the ICC events. “New Zealand are a very very good side, make no mistake about it. You don't need me to say that. It's almost become fashionable to call them underdogs but that narrative has changed. They have beaten us in big games but therein lies an opportunity for us,” Dravid said.

I lost my cricket career to racism: Azeem Rafiq gets emotional at Parliamentary hearing

Former Yorkshire captain Azeem Rafiq said that he lost his cricketing career due to racism. Speaking at a hearing by a United Kingdom’s Parliament Select Committee set up by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to investigate institutional racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Rafiq said that racism took his career away from him. "Yes, I do,” said the 30-year-old when asked if racism was the reason he thinks behind his cricket career ending so soon. “A horrible feeling. Maybe what was written for me was this. I am a massive believer in everything happening for a reason,” the former all-rounder added. Rafeeq was also hopeful that from him coming out and exposing the institutional racism that has been taking place at Yorkshire and might be happening at other County cricket clubs for years, something will change for good. "Hopefully we will see a massive change in five years' time and hopefully I did something bigger than getting runs or wickets,” he said. Rafiq was also asked about how his wife has coped through all this. Answering this, the former England U-19 captain got emotional and said, "She has struggled and still continues.” “Over the last 15 months, we have two young kids - one is just over two, one is about to turn one - and they have not had a dad, really, because all I have been worried about is Yorkshire going out to discredit me and how I am going to deal with it. It has been challenging, but I hope today provides some sort of closure and I can treat her for what she deserves,” he added.

Azeem Rafiq recalls apology from Matthew Hoggard; says he only needs 'acceptance and apology'

Former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq has said that he has only asked for “acceptance and apology” from players who have been involved in acts of racism and inhuman treatment towards him. In the hearing in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, one member, MPJulie Elliott asked Azeem if he has received an apology from players privately and he took the name of former England pacer Matthew Hoggard, who offered his apology and his lack of realisation at the time of occurrence of the incidence. Azeem said that he appreciated Hoggard coming forward to him and accepting that he committed wrong. He also recalled another conversation with one “friend” who said that he would not have done any activity of that sort if he was made aware of what he went through. “Matthew Hoggard phoned me after my Sky interview,” said Rafiq. “He said he didn’t realise and was really sorry. I really appreciated it.” "I bumped into a friend a few months after and he said 'We didn't realise we had that affect on you, if you said we would have stopped'. "That is all I wanted, an acceptance and apology. Azeem also responded to Michael Vaughan’s claims that he never made anti-Asian remarks while playing for Yorkshire and said that he would not be recalling the events as it “doesn’t mean anything to him”. However, he maintained that it was not just about Vaughan, but the overall process and atmosphere in the Yorkshire dressing room. “I don’t want to make it all about Michael,” Azeem said. “Michael might not remember it because it doesn’t mean anything to him.”