T20 World Cup: Maheesh Theekshana likely to be rested for Bangladesh match due to side strain

CSA Provincial T20 | Knights crowned inaugural champions, beat Dolphins in thrilling finale

It was a thrilling finish to the Cricket South Africa’s Provincial T20 Knockout tournament, which started out as the first tournament of the revamped domestic structure of South African cricket. Knights, a well established domestic giants beat another giant in Dolphins by seven runs to be crowned as champions of the season’s first and only tournament where division 1 and division two teams played side by side. Set a target of 177 to win for the Dolphins, the team from Durban were not able to recover from the early blows and by the time they did, it was almost too late to wake up. Dolphins lost two big wickets of Keegan Petersen and skipper Marques Ackerman early on the chase and then the re-build was started by two other senior pros in Khaya Zondo and Sarel Erwee. The two added 51 for the third wicket before Alfred Mothoa removed Erwee. Though Bryce Parsons tried to build a partnership with Zondo and the duo did add did 26 for the fourth wicket, Zondo’s dismissal off the bowling of Nealan van Heerden was a big blow to Dolphins’ hopes. However, not leaving the battle till it was done with, Parsons partnered Jason Smith and the duo added 52 runs in just 37 balls to bring Dolphins as close as the fact that only 33 runs were needed in the last two overs to win. But with Migael Pretorius picking two wickets in two balls including that of Parsons, Smith was left with too much to do alone. Although the 27-year-old did take strike on all the remaining 10 balls in the innings, Smith could only manage to get 25 out of the required 33 as his team lost the game by seven runs. Earlier in the day, after being asked to bat first, Knights, with the help of opener Patrick Krugerskipper’s 61, Pite van Biljon’s 42 and quickfire 28 and 29* respectively from experienced pros Rilee Rossouw and Farhaan Behardien, managed to get to 176-5 in their 20 overs. Pretorius for his figures of 3-30 and especially for picking two match-changing wickets was awarded Man of the Match.

T20 World Cup | AUS vs SA: Familiar foes gear up to light up the Super 12 opener in unfamiliar territory

It is finally the round that everyone has been waiting for in the World Cup. The Super 12 is ready to begin and what better than to start the most crucial stage than with a clash between two of the world’s most competitive sides especially when they face each other- Australia and South Africa. Tales galore of the historic tight games between the two sides, however, none beats the 1999 ODI World Cup semi-final clash. But when it comes to the T20 World Cup, the sides really haven’t had a memorable game as the only time they met in a World Cup tie was way back in 2012 in Sri Lanka where Australia overpowered the Proteas in a five-wicket win. And as far as T20I tussle is concerned, then in 23 games, Australia have won 13 and South Africa eight with the recent record favouring the Aussies 6-4 in last 10 ties. Unfamiliar territory However, all the records discussed above are from either Australia or South Africa or territories that were familiar to both sides in some way or the other. But this time around they are going to be playing in Sheikh Zayed Stadium where both the teams have never met each other before. Also while Australia has played only one T20I at this venue, losing by a huge margin of 66 runs, South Africa have won two out of two games, both of which came way back in 2010. Though both South African and Australian players have played in the IPL in the last two seasons and are very well aware of the conditions of Abu Dhabi, playing as a team and knowing your strengths and weaknesses on a particular wicket is different from playing individually for other teams in a franchise tournament. Thus both the teams are at the same level as far as the familiarity with conditions is concerned. Form leading up to the World Cup South Africa have been in great touch coming to the World Cup as they beat Sri Lanka and Ireland 3-0 in T20Is and also won a five-match series against defending champions West Indies 3-2. Out of the last 10 matches, they have won nine and even in the World Cup warm-up games they beat Afghanistan and Pakistan from situations where it seemed like they might just fumble. On the other hand, the Australian team haven’t really had a good run-up to the World Cup, losing 11 of their last 15 T20Is that they have played in this year. This includes losses against New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh. Even after taking into consideration that they were not with their best of the resources in series against Bangladesh and West Indies, the results were just too bad to even discuss anything beyond them. The warm-up games in this World Cup haven’t been too bright for the Kangaroos either as they barely managed to chase down 158 against New Zealand while against India they were hit all over the park. Thus on the basis of form, South Africa seem to be having an upper hand over the Aussies. Australia vs South Africa: Match Details Match Number - 13 Date and Time: October 23, 2021, 03:30 pm IST, 02:00 pm Local, 10:00 am GMT Venue: Shiekh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report In the four matches that have been played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in this World Cup so far, the wicket has behaved in a manner typical to slow and low wickets of UAE. It is not a rank turner, but there is something for the spinners if they apply themselves well and the bounce is not two-paced, but salwar ones and cutters can be very useful and so can be a total in the range of 160 or above. Weather Forecast The temperatures in the day are going to remain in between the lower to mid-thirties throughout the course of the game. Humidity will be low, below 45 and hence not much sweating for the players as compared to the recently concluded IPL. the best bet in such conditions would be to win the toss and bat first, give your spinners a chance to use the wicket second and try and extract some help. What did the captains say? Aaron Finch, the Aussie captain was confident of his all-rounders to bowl four overs among them and is thus going with only four specialist bowlers. “We are going with seven specialist batters and four specialist bowlers. We have got a lot of confidence in the depth of our squad and got a lot of confidence in our all-rounders in Maxwell, Stonis and Marsh to bowl four overs,” he said in the pre-match press conference. On the other hand, Temba Bavuma was also chuffed about his team’s performance so far leading up to the World Cup. “In terms of coming up against Australia, there's no bigger motivation for the guys. Clashes against Australia have always been full of fire and we don't expect it to be any different tomorrow. We won't be undermining them by looking at their past results. We know what type of team they are and it will be important we bring our A-game,” he said in the pre-match presser. Team News Australia With Finch clarifying that the team would be going with four specialist bowlers thus the question of Ashton Agar playing becomes an important one as Pat Cummins form in the warm-up games wasn’t great. However considering that the Aussies like to back their stars, both Cummins and David Warner look like certainties playing in this game at least. Probable XI David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood South Africa Though spinner Tabraiz Shamsi suffered a groin injury in the warm-up game against Pakistan, Bavuma in the pre-match presser confirmed that he would be available for selection and hence it is assumed that he would be part of the Playing XI. With Rassie van der Dussen in great form, and Aiden Markram and David Miller being great support above and below him, the South African batting packs a heavy punch. Probable XI Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi. CE XI Fantasy team Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock Batters Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Steve Smith All-rounders Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis Bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa Vice-Captain Rassie van der Dussen Captain Glenn Maxwell

T20 World Cup | Sri Lanka bowlers thump Netherlands to end to their miserable campaign

It was a dominating performance by the Sri Lankan team as they beat the Netherlands by eight wickets in their last Round 1 game to get to the Super 12 stage with three big victories under their belt. It was actually a no match as far as both the teams were considered on the field. The Lankans dismissed the Dutch for a paltry 44, the lowest total in this World Cup and the second-lowest total ever in any T20 World Cup. From there on there was no coming back for the Orange brigade as the Lankans, even after losing last match’s half century-maker and opener Pathum Nissanka for a duck in the second over managed to chase down the total in only 7.1 overs courtesy of a fine knock of unbeaten 33 from wicketkeeper batter Kusal Perera who showed signs of coming back to form after being out of it for the last two games. However the problem up top continued for the Lankans as Charith Asalanka, who was selected to replace Dinesh Chandimal in the playing xi didn’t do any better either as he was dismissed for only six runs. It still remains a mystery as to why Dhananjaya de Silva is not being tried despite him being a great strike maker. The Sri Lankan bowling was top class once again as it has been throughout Round 1. Wanindu Hasaranga’s leg-spin was just too much for the Dutch batters to handle and added to that was the speedy inswinging yorkers from Lahiru Kumara and the mystery spin of Maheesh Theekshana. The three among themselves accounted for the nine wickets in the Netherlands innings, while Max O’Dowd was run out. Courtesy of topping Group A in Round 1, the Sri Lankan team will now be placed in Group 1 at the Super 12 stage where they will compete against the likes of England, West Indies, South Africa, Australia and Bangladesh for the top two spots to move into the Semi-Finals.

T20 World Cup | Miserable campaign carries on for Netherlands as they bundle out for 44 against Sri Lanka

It was once again a miserable day for the Netherlands at the T20 World Cup 2021 as they got bundled out for 44 against Sri Lanka in their last match of the campaign. This is now the second-lowest total in any T20 World Cup and the lowest in this edition. The lowest T20 World Cup total of 33 is also in the name of the Netherlands, and ironically it also came against Sri Lanka in the 2014 T20 World Cup. Right from the start where skipper Dasun Shanaka chose to field first, the Lankan bowlers were all over the Dutch batting lineup. Their best batsman in the tournament so far, Max O’Dowd got run out in the very first over and provided a big jolt to the Dutch who were looking to end the tournament on a high. The highest partnership of the innings was courtesy of Stephan Myburgh and Ben Cooper who added 16 for the second wicket. From there on, there was just no respite at all for the Dutch batters as Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara and Mahesh Theekshana made life very difficult on the Sharjah track. While Hsaranaga and Kumara picked two wickets each, Theekshana continued his wicket-taking form with two-wicket in this game as well. Sri Lanka would now need 45 to win the match and finish their Round 1 without losing a single game.