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

T20 World Cup | PAK vs SCO: As Pakistan target spotless Super 12, Scots would look to bow out on a high

The Pakistani team which has played phenomenally well in this tournament so far would be looking to go one better and finish the Super 12 stage and march into the semi-final with a win and remain unbeaten in the tournament. They have an easy outlet to achieve that as well as they face Scotland, the only team in the group that has not won any game so far. Scotland and Kyle Coetzer will on the other end look to finish the campaign on a high and nothing could be better than a win. But considering that the game would be played in Sharjah, a win would be a very far fetched result for the Scots. What's at stake? For Pakistan, it is much more about pride, about getting to the semis remaining unbeaten and proving to their opposition, which would most likely be Australia, that they mean business and are not to be taken lightly whatsoever. On the other hand, for Scots, everything is at stake. It’s not about just winning, but also proving to themselves that they can compete at the highest level too. It has been just one game against New Zealand where they were able to showcase their full potential. It would also be a challenge for them to play against spin and no better place than Sharjah to test themselves. They have folded very quickly against the spin of Afghanistan and India and hence showcasing some fight here would mean a lot to them. What needs to change? For Pakistan, they would like Mohammad Hafeez to get back in form before the big match in the semi-final. Also, Hasan Ali is someone that has been wayward throughout the tournament but has remained in the playing XI as the team did not want to change the winning combination. If he could come back to form then the green brigade would be firing all cylinders before the semi-finals. For Scotland, they need to change their approach towards batting and not go all bonkers even when the wickets are falling. Experienced players like Richie Berrington, skipper Kyle Coetzer and George Munsey need to stick together and play the 20 overs with confidence while the late order hitters in Michael Leask and Chris Greaves need to come to the party. Pakistan vs Scotland: Match Details Match Number - 41 Date and Time: November 07, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The pitch at Sharjah would be shiny in terms of looks like it has been for quite a while now, but it would act as a facade as the wicket would be low and slow as usual and anything above the range of 150 would be hard to chase on that wicket. Weather Forecast The temperature at the stadium will fall from 29-degree Celsius at 06:00 pm to 25-degree Celsius by 10:00 pm and similarly, the humidity will increase from 41% to 53%. A light breeze is expected and there are very limited chances of precipitation as well, which is a very rare phenomenon in Sharjah. But since there would definitely be some dew, any team winning the toss would look to field first even though chasing has been a troublesome task on this wicket. Team News Pakistan The Pakistani team would not be looking to make any change as it has been evident in their last game against Namibia that they want to play with the same xi and keep doing the same stuff before going to the next stage. Probable XI Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi Scotland The only change that Scotland could afford is bringing back Josh Davey in the XI as the rest of the players are their mainstay anyways. Probable XI George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Alasdair Evans, Safyaan Sharif, Bradley Wheal CE XI Fantasy team Wicketkeepers Mohammad Rizwan Batters George Munsey, Richie Berrington, Babar Azam, Asif Ali All-rounders Michael Leask, Shadab Khan Bowlers Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi Vice-Captain Shaheen Afridi Captain Babar Azam

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.