T20 World Cup | NZ vs NAM: Late surge with bat, clinical bowling puts Kiwis closer to semi-final spot

T20 World Cup: West Indies fined 20 per cent of match fees for slow over-rate

West Indies have been fined 20 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Sri Lanka during their Super 12 fixture in Abu Dhabi. The sanction was imposed by David Boon of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. "In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time," a statement from ICC read. There was no need for a formal hearing as West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard accepted the proposed sanction after pleading guilty to the offence. The Caribbean side was eliminated from the tournament after losing to the Lankan lions by 20 runs. Chasing 190 in 20 overs, West Indies were restricted to 169/8 after the batting unit, barring Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer failed to fire. Earlier, in the day, Sri Lanka rode on some fine piece of batsmanship from Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka to post 189/3 on the board. Both the batsmen notched up individual fifties during the course. West Indies will now play Australia on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

It's up to BCB to decide: Mahmudullah on captaincy future

Bangladesh had a dismal run in the T20 World Cup, losing all five of their Super 12 matches. They had even lost to Scotland in Round 1. The Bangla Tigers were coming into the tournament on the back of some fine performances in the format at home but couldn’t replicate that at the big tournament. Now, captain Mahmudullah has opened up about his future as the leader of the side and added that it's in the hands of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), whether he would continue as the skipper or not. "It is not in my hands and it is up to BCB to decide (regarding captaincy)," Mahmudullah said after Bangladesh's against Australia. "From my side, I tried my best probably there was (something) lacking in my captaincy and could not bring the best from my teammates,” he added. The right-handed batsman also cleared the air that he wasn’t thinking of hanging his boost from the T20Is. "No, no, I am not thinking of quitting," he further said. "Personally I am searching for the answer that what is missing and what we need to do and we all discussed regarding the matter to find out what we lack,” Mahmudullah added.

Morgan calls for 'head on' response, says winning trophies not above fighting racism in Cricket

I believe life is a circle: Ashwin says he wanted to prove a point to himself in this T20 World Cup

Ravichandran Ashwin, who played a crucial role in India restricting Afghanistan to only 144 in defence of India’s 210 and boosting the team‘s net run rate, feels that life is a circle and although he has not yet fully come around, getting a chance in the T20 World Cup 2021 was a big boost to his confidence in his approach of reinventing his bowling. "I had special dreams getting into the World Cup, wanting to do special things for the team and after a point in time, trying to prove a point, whether right or wrong, not to anybody else but to yourself,” he said in a pre-match press conference before India’s clash against Scotland in Dubai. "I believe life is a circle, for some people, it's a small one, for some it's large. It's definitely not in our hands. For me, understanding patterns in my life and career is something I've done very well over the last couple of years,” Ashwin said dwelling upon the philosophical aspect of his life. “Whenever I've had a very good stretch of form, I've had deep trenches, some very long periods of lull which I don't want to read too much into. That's a pattern I've embraced,” added the 35-year-old. Hustling and staying humble are the two things that are critical to a person’s success, be it in life or in sports and Ashwin agreed to it. He also cited the examples of two greats Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar on how to remain humble at high and work hard at lows. "Staying humble through good periods of success is a statement lot of people make, but I've firmly embraced it and lived it. Shane Warne once said you experience success 33% of the time in your career. Sachin [Tendulkar] has also echoed that at some stage, so who am I, I am no different. "The easiest way to cope with it, to go through a professional circle like that is to keep preparing keep working hard, expecting an opportunity to turn up at your doorstep one day and when it happens you have all the options to break open doors, latches and locks. That's what life is all about, so live for those days and keep preparing as that day will come,” he said. The Tamil Nadu born also dwelled upon the importance of not losing hope no matter what, saying that the fruits of hope and perseverance might not bore easily, but eventually it will. "It's easy to lose hope and motivation, come to those doors, hide behind them and keep complaining. That's something I will definitely not do because for me it's not about what the game has given me. It's about what I've given to the game and how much I enjoy playing the game. For me, if you put three stumps anywhere and ask me to play the game at this stage of my life, I'd do it most times,” he said.