Stayed up all night to watch Ireland beat Windies in 2015 WC: Joshua Little wants bigger memories in 2021

Disciplined Scotland stage first of many upsets in ICC T20 World Cup

Scotland pulled off the first upset of the ICC T20 World cup on the inaugural day of the tournament after clinically defeating Bangladesh by six runs on Sunday, 17 October. Chasing an under-par total of 140 runs in the Al Amerat, Bangladesh faltered under a disciplined performance of Scotland, ably marshalled by Kyle Coetzer. The captain first unleashed his fast bowlers and extracted all the movement he could in the initial overs. It meant that Josh Davey and Bradley Wheal bowled to Bangladeshi batsmen at an attacking length, picking up two wickets within the four overs of the second innings. Things went from bad to worse for the Asian team who were coming on the back off series wins against Australia and Bangladesh after they were choked out by the spin attack halfway through the chase, reeling at 59/2 after 10 overs. With the required run-rate climbing above 8.2, Bangladesh looked to attack the inexperienced Chris Greaves but ended up giving him two wickets in the first ball off his first two overs. With the Tigers down to 80/4 in 14 overs, it was only a matter of time till Scotland sealed the deal. The win was delayed by a little while with Afif Hossain being able to find his range, but before it became a late resurgence, spinner Mark Watt was able to put a lid on it, dismissing Afif when he was at 18 off 11 balls. With the victory more than assured from there on, Scotland picked two more wickets in the penultimate over before eventually choking out Bangladesh for 134 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. One of the big issues for Bangladesh turned out to be the lack of power hitting game, with six players getting out while trying to play attacking shots. This puts a lot of questions on the unit given Bangladesh were the favourites to get into the Super 12 stage among all the eight teams playing the first round. They might still go through, but that does not mean that they will be able to match the likes of India, England and West Indies, despite being full-time members of the ICC. Earlier in the day, Scotland dragged themselves out of trouble after losing their famed top order early in the innings. After losing their first six wickets for just 53 runs inside 12 overs, an incredible rescue work from spin duo Chris Greaves (45 off 28) and Mark Watt (22 off 17) ensured that Scotland had something to defend. Speaking after the game, captain Coetzer took notice of the same and reiterated his belief in the squad that they have come with. The defeat means that Bangladesh will have to win their two remaining games. One of them would be against an impressive Oman, who defeated Papua New Guinea by 10 wickets today. The Bangladesh batting will have to get things in order before the more serious competition comes into play in the Super 12s.

World T20 2021: Ireland begin quest in view of stamping authority

The Ireland side has been one of the two sides apart from Afghanistan in world cricket who has been attaining success in the past few years. They were granted the Test status in 2017, are considered to be a decent unit as far as T20 format is concerned and comprise of some brilliant players in the line up. They will now be battling it out in the World T20 2021 and will play the first match against Netherlands in Abu Dhabi on Monday (October 18, 2021). The Irish team is one of the eight teams who are playing the preliminary round of the tournament. The teams have been divided into two groups of four and the top two sides from each group will go into the Super 12s stage. Apart from the Netherlands, their group has Sri Lanka and Namibia as well. But moving further, let’s just take a look at Ireland’s recent run in the T20I format. They suffered series defeats against UAE and South Africa respectively earlier this year. While Ireland played UAE away from home, their locked horns with the Proteas on the home soil. But they did taste some success after beating Zimbabwe in home fixtures. While the form was a bit of concern for them coming into the World T20, the Ireland team would have taken a sigh of relief after clinching victories in the warm-up matches against Bangladesh and PNG. More than the wins, it was about the margins by which they defeated the opponents. Ireland thumped PNG by 8 wickets after chasing down a target of 97 with 20 balls to spare and then grabbed a comprehensive 33-run win against Bangladesh after defending a target of 178 quite successfully. They had put up an all round show during the practice games and would look to continue the form when the side takes the centre stage. Team News Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie sparked an injury concern after he suffered a toe injury during a game against UAE on October 10. Later, the X-ray had ruled out the possibility of any fracture but the team management had begun the intensive training. He in fact scored an unbeaten 42 against PNG on October 12 in the warm-up match. Experienced campaigners The Ireland contingent has some prominent names in the line up who have played a lot of cricket. Paul Stirling, George Dockrell, Andrew Balbirnie, and Kevin O’Brien are some of the names on whom the team would bank upon. Ireland have been known for causing some major upsets in big tournaments. They defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh in 2007 ODI World Cup, no one can really forget that knock from Kevin that he unleashed against England in the 2011 ODI World Cup and stole away a win from the jaws of defeat from his side. Later, in the 2015 edition of 50-over World Cup, they achieved a win against West Indies. While they have left a mark in ODI World Cups, Ireland are still looking to stamp authority in World T20. In fact, Kevin O’Brien admitted that the side needs to win games in the World T20. “We've had a lot more success and our big victories have been in the 50-over tournament," he had said. "But you look back at when we beat Bangladesh in 2009 at Trent Bridge you have still had victories at T20, but lately the ones that stand out are the results we have been on the wrong side of,” he added. So with a lot of experience under their belt and a hunger to prove themselves in World T20s, Ireland would be looking to take the field. Full Squad: Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young. Reserve players: Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Barry McCarthy

Yuvraj Singh arrested for using casteist slur, gets interim bail

Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was arrested in Haryana for using a casteist slur against leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. The incident happened while the former left-handed cricketer was live on Instagram last year. He was arrested in Hansi, Hisar district of Haryana but he got the interim bail. According to the Advocate Rajat Kalsan, Yuvraj was given VIP treatment by the Police. " Yuvraj Singh was given complete VIP treatment by Haryana Police and selfies were taken with him. Unlike what should normally be the case with an accused, he was fed juices and snacks in the gazetted officer's mess and was deliberately kept away from the media,” Kalsan said. "We have challenged the order of the Hon'ble Punjab Haryana High Court granting interim bail to Yuvraj Singh in the Supreme Court and we will try our best that celebrities and VIPs who very casually use derogatory words for people of our society should be sent to jail and a strict message should be given to the society," he added. Now the Police will have to present a challan in the court against Yuvraj and the cricketer will have to get a regular bail from the special court after that according to Kalsan. He will have to appear on every date and can also be sentenced to five years of jail if proven guilty.

World T20 2021 | BAN vs SCO: Chris Greaves leads resurgence against Bangladesh

Scotland’s Chris Greaves was on a roll during the first World T20 2021 match against Bangladesh in Al Amerat. He first came in for the rescue of his side when they were struggling at 52/5 while batting first in the 11th over and chipped in with a brisk 45 off 28 deliveries in only his second T20I. His knock included a couple of maximums and four fours during the course of his innings. After struggling in the middle overs, Scotland rode on Greaves knock to put 140/9 in 20 overs. Apart from his Mark Wyatt also scored important runs as he put a 17-ball 22. Mahedi Hasan was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh after he took three wickets for 19 in 4 overs. Later, Greaves picked up wickets on the very first delivery of his first two overs and his scalps included the important dismissals of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan. Greaves had figures of 2/19 after bowling three overs. Bangladesh started off the chase in a dismal manner after losing the openers in early. Shakib and Rahim then stitched a stand of 47 runs for the third wicket but Shakib’s departure pushed Bangladesh on the backfoot.