T20 World Cup | AUS vs WI: Gayle hugs Mitchell Marsh after scalping his wicket; watch video

T20 World Cup | AUS vs WI: David Warner demolishes West Indies bowling to etch convincing win

Australia’s clinical performance against West Indies put them in front giving the side a genuine chance for making a qualification in the semis of the T20 World Cup. Chasing 158, the Australian team rode on some fine pieces of batting from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh to go over the line by 8 wickets and in just 16.2 overs in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Australia were off to a decent start after captain Aaron Finch and Warner put 33 runs on the board for the first wicket before the skipper departed for 9 off 11. Marsh then replaced Finch in the middle and he along with Warner took on the charge and stitched a stand of 124 runs for the second wicket. Both the batsmen went on to notch up individual fifties during the course. Marsh was eventually undone by Chris Gayle after he was caught for 53 off 32 but it was too late as the Australians just needed one more run to win which they eventually did. Warner remained unbeaten at 89 off 56. Earlier, West Indies didn’t really have a good start as they lost wickets at regular intervals to get reduced to 91/5 but it was captain Kieron Pollard who held the fort from one end and scored a 31-ball 44. Later, Andre Russell who had been struggling with the form also chipped in with a quick-fire 18 off 7 that included a couple of maximums to help the side put 157/7 in 20 overs. For Australia, it was Josh Hazlewood who scalped a four-wicket haul at the cost of 39 runs in 4 overs. This was the final match for the defending champions West Indies in this edition of the T20 World Cup and with the conclusion of the tournament, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has also bid adieu to international cricket and most likely it was the final game for Chris Gayle as well in West Indies colours. Australia captain Finch talked about Bravo and his contributions. “Now we have to wait for the South Africa game, We can hold our head high if it doesn't go our way. We have won four games out of five. What a super player (Dwayne Bravo). Had the pleasure of playing with him as well. What a super, super competitor,” Finch said during the post-match presentation. Pollard admitted that it was a disappointing tournament for the Caribbean side. “We could have done better with the fielding as well. Overall we weren't good enough. But for me, it's the end of a generation/era where you have some guys who have done some good things for T20 cricket, not only in the Caribbean but around the world. Sometimes one tournament you don't want to sum up the entire thing when it comes to that but rationally these guys have done pretty well for themselves and we as people are very, very proud,” Pollard said.

T20 World Cup | What South Africa need to do against England to qualify for semi-final?

The chances of South Africa qualifying for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021 looked very slim right from the outset on the last day of the Super 12 stage in Group 1. Those chances got even slimmer as Australia not only beat West Indies but beat them big time and thus increased their net run rate in a big way. The Australian net run rate after the match against West Indies went up to +1.216 which now means that South Africa would now have to win the game by at least 60 runs against table-toppers England in their last Super 12 game. Had South Africa chased, they would have needed to chase it down a target of more than 150 in 12-13 overs. But now that the Proteas lost the toss and are batting first, they need to win it by at least 60 runs to make sure that they reach the semis. Skipper Temba Bavuma at the time of toss said, “We would look to build a foundation in the first six overs and then launch ourselves as much as we can.”

SMAT 2021: Gaikwad's brilliance with bat continues, Sai Kishore picks up a hat-trick

Maharashtra’s Ruturaj Gaikwad has been in sublime form and he continued with it against Odisha in Lucknow on Saturday as well in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. On the other hand, Punjab’s Prabhsimran notched up an unbeaten century against Goa in Lucknow while Chandigarh captain Manan Vohra also scored a hundred against Hyderabad in Gurgaon. Here’s a look at the highlights of Day 3 of SMAT 2021. Ruturaj Gaikwad terrific run Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has been in some great touch with the bat after he scored yet another fifty for the side in the SMAT 2021. Gaikwad and Kedar Jadhav helped Maharashtra put 183/8 in 20 overs against Odisha while batting first and then the bowlers did the job after bundling them out for 156 to win the match by 27 runs. Divyang Himganekar scalped four wickets during the course while Ashay Palkar picked up a three-for during the course. Krunal Pandya’s lethal bowling Baroda captain Krunal Pandya produced a brilliant spell of spin bowling against Chhattisgarh after he returned with figures of 4/15 in 4 overs. Chhattisgarh were bowled out for 94 eventually. Baroda then lost a few wickets during the chase and were reduced to 40/4 before Parth Kohli and Ninad Rathva steadied the ship for the side and stitched an unbeaten partnership of 58 runs for the fifth wicket to see the side home. Prabhsimran notches up a ton Punjab openers Prabhsimran and Shubman Gill took on the Goa bowlers in Lucknow as the two batters put up a stand of 118 runs for the first wicket. While Gill was dismissed for 40 off 36, Prabhsimran went on to score a century and remained unbeaten at a 61-ball 119, a knock that included six maximums and 11 fours during the course. Punjab posted a total of 197/4 in 20 overs. Later, the bowlers did a fantastic job after Siddarth Kaur picked up three wickets while Harpreet Brar and Mayan Markande had a couple of wickets each to their name to win the match by 81 runs. Mana Vohra’s ton goes in vain Chandigarh captain Manan Vohra was the lone warrior in the line up against Hyderabad in Gurgaon. The right-handed batsman scored 106* off 64 to help his side put 162/5 in 20 overs on the scoresheet. But his efforts went in vain as Hyderabad rode on fifties from Hanuma Vihari and Tilak Varma to win the contest by 8 wickets and in less than 19 overs. As far as the points table is concerned, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi are sitting at the helm in Elite Group A, B, C, Danders E respectively. Vidarbha are placed at the top in the Plate group.

WBBL 2021 | Harmanpreet, Jemimah’s blitzkrieg too much to handle for Brisbane Heat

Indian Players keep on shining in the Women’s Big Bash League 2021 as Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodriguez hit brilliant fifties to get their team Melbourne Renegades Women past 200, the first 200 plus score for any team this season. While Rodriguez scored 52 off 31 balls at a strike rate of 167, Kaur was many steps ahead and powered herself a to 31 ball 65, striking at more than 200, getting out eventually on the last ball of the over trying to accelerate even more. Along with these two Evelyn Jones, another opener in the team also hit a fifty, scoring 62 off 46 balls. Courtesy of all these innings, the Renegades reached 207-4 in their 20 overs. But the victory was still not to come as the Brisbane Heat Wome really turned on the heat with the bat. Courtesy of Laura May Kimmince’s 42 off 21 balls, Georgia Voll’s 40 off 28 balls and late order hitting by bowlers Nicola Hancock, Nadine de Klerk and Charli Knott, they managed to reach 192 in their 20 overs and eventually lost the match by only 15 runs. Harmanpreet also picked up a wicket in her two overs spell. In another game, Melbourne Stars Women were way too hot to handle for Adelaide Strikers Women who were restricted for 89-8, chasing 127 for the win. Meg Lanning, the Australian skipper was the star of the game with her brilliant 82 off just 45 balls. In another match hosts Perth Scorchers Women were surprised by Hobart Hurricanes Women who beat them by two runs in a thriller at WACA in Perth. Nicola Carey was the hero with the ball for the Hurricanes as he defended six runs in the final over while with the bat skipper Rachel Priest shone with her fifty and helped her team get to 137 in 20 overs. Chamari Athapaththu top-scored for Scorchers Women, scoring 33 off 31 balls.