T20 World Cup | Final: Kane Williamson leads New Zealand from the front with crucial fifty

T20 World Cup | Final: New Zealand off to a cautious start against Australia

New Zealand were off to a cautious start in the power play overs against Australia in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday in Dubai. After being put into bat by Australian skipper Aaron Finch who won the toss, the Blackcaps could only manage to score 32/1 in the first six overs. Openers Daryl Mitchell and Martin Guptill did gather some quick runs in the very first over but they didn’t really capitalise on the start and the scoring rate dipped. Mitchell was eventually undone by Josh Hazlewood in the fourth over after wicket-keeper Matthew Wade took a good catch to dismiss the batsman for an 8-ball 11 which included a maximum off Glenn Maxwell. Guptill was unbeaten at 17 off 20 while Williamson was at 3* off 8 after the conclusion of the powerplay. Both Australia and New Zealand are in search of their first T20I title.

PAK 'W' vs WI 'W' | 3rd ODI: West Indies complete clean sweep win

The West Indies women’s cricket team completed a clean sweep win in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan in Karachi on Sunday, 14 November. Chasing 226, the Caribbean team rode on an unbeaten century from Stafanie Taylor, a 58-ball 49 from Hayley Matthews and 51* from Chedean Nation to go over the line by 6 wickets and in 44 overs. The West Indies side lost three early wickets and were reduced to 15/3 when Taylor and Mathews joined hands and steadied the ship for the team with a 83-run stand for the fourth wicket. But the partnership was eventually broken after Mathews departed for 49 off 58. Taylor was then joined by Nation in the middle and the two batters made sure that there were no further fall of wickets as they put 128 runs for the fifth wicket and anchored the side to a win. While Taylor completed a hundred, Nation notched up a half-century. Earlier in the day, the hosts got a good start to the proceedings as they put 123/2 on the score sheet but Muneeba Ali’s wicket broke the shackles and the home side lost wickets at regular intervals. Ali scored 58 off 88. While Pakistan lost wickets regularly, it was Aliya Riaz who showed some resistance and struck 44* off 57 to help the side put 225/7 in 50 overs. Selman and Aaliyah Alleyne picked up a couple of wickets for West Indies. Pakistan had already lost the first two ODIs of the series.

T20 World Cup | Watch: Earthquake tremors felt in Dubai ahead of the Final

Many videos surfaced on the internet as an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale shook areas in and around Dubai, the venue for the final of the T20 World Cup 2021. The UAE’s Meteorological Center confirmed that these were the aftershocks from a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in southern Iran and were felt across several emirates. "A 6.2 Magnitude Earthquake on Richter scale is recorded in South of Iran at 16:07, 14/11/2021 "UAE time” According to the NCM “National Seismic Network," the UAE's National Center for Meteorology tweeted. Even residents in Abu Dhabi and Ras al-Khaimah said that the buildings and homes shook following the earthquake in Iran. Although it was reported very early in the day and hence there seems to be no effect in the World Cup final which will be played between New Zealand and Australia.

VVS Laxman likely to take over as NCA chief after Dravid’s appointment as India head coach

Former India batter VVS Laxman is all set to take charge of the National Cricket Academy as its head, a position that has been left vacant since the time Rahul Dravid took charge of the Indian cricket team as its head coach. The deal is almost settled and only an official announcement is awaited. “Laxman has agreed in principle. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah were very keen to have another stalwart take forward Dravid’s project at NCA. Dravid and Laxman share a great understanding and the board wants synergy between Team India and NCA,” a source close to the BCCI was quoted as saying by the TOI. “The modalities of his terms of appointment are still being worked out. But he has already been sharing his ideas on NCA,” it added. There was reluctance on the part of Laxman, who has represented the country in more than 100 Tests as he did not want to move base from Hyderabad to Bengaluru, where the Academy is located. “Laxman has been reluctant to move to Bengaluru from Hyderabad where his family is settled. However, he had multiple discussions with Ganguly and Shah after the IPL finished on October 15. His concerns were addressed. He will now discuss the offer with Sunrisers Hyderabad where he has been working as a mentor. The negotiations around his salary and other compensation will have to be completed now,” the source said. The appointment would have to be made early as the head of the NCA would also be responsible for Team India’s U-19 World Cup campaign which begins in January 2022 in West Indies.