T20 World Cup | PAK vs NAM: Pakistan stretch unbeaten streak with another comprehensive win

T20 World Cup | NZ vs SCO Preview: Kiwis look to fly high against depleted Scotland

New Zealand will have a great opportunity to build on the momentum as they take on a depleted Scotland on Wednesday in Dubai. The Blackcaps are coming into this game on the back of a sensational bowling performance against India. The Kiwis bowling unit was on song and thoroughly dominated a formidable Indian batting order to restrict them to 110/7 in 20 overs. Scotland on the other side, have struggled in the Super 12 stage and have lost both the matches that they have played so far. Moreover, it’s been their batting order that has struggled. In the previous clash against Namibia, the top-order just got dismantled like a pack of cards and it was Ruben Trumpelmann, a left-arm pacer who scalped three in the first over. New Zealand have Trent Boult, a much more experienced lad. While for the Kane Williamson-led side, it would be a chance to continue form, Scotland have an uphill task of getting themselves back on track. Match Details New Zealand vs Scotland, Match 32, Super 12 Group 2 Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Date & Time: 3rd November at 3:30 PM IST and 2:00 PM Local Time Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar Pitch Report The teams batting second have had the edge at the venue. The seamers will have something on offer from the track and can play a prominent role in dominating the opposition. So, if you win the toss, field first. Trent Boult: A cause of concern for Scotland New Zealand pacer Trent Boult is one bowler who can create some problems for the top order. The Scotland batting unit went haywire after Trumpelmann unleashed that bowling performance in the first over. The horrors of that particular over would still be afresh in Scotland batters’ mind and it would be very important for them to negotiate that. New Zealand’s opening stand The Blackcaps have a chance to fine tune that one issue which they have faced in the first two matches and that is the opening stand. Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell have given steady starts to the side but they now need to capitalise on that. The two batsmen put 36 against Pakistan and 24 vs India respectively for the first wicket. The team management would now want them to put some more runs on the board to provide the team with a solid foundation. Kiwis’ strong batting order The New Zealand side has one of the most stable batting unit. While Guptill and Mitchell can provide them with steady starts, Williamson has his work cut out to stay as long as he can at the crease. Apart from him Conway’s ability with the bat is known to everyone. Probable XI New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult Scotland: George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington, Calum Macleod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Josh Davey, Safyaan Sharif, Brad Wheal CE Fantasy XI Devon Conway, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson (VC), George Munsey, Calum Macleod, Richie Berrington, Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi (C), Mark Watt

Bangladesh bow out of T20 World Cup as South Africa come out superior in pacers' day out

The controversy marred South Africa cricket team took a big step forward towards sealing a semi final berth in the ICC T20 World Cup after beating Bangladesh by a comprehensive margin of 6 wickets with over 6 overs remaining. It was a fast bowlers day out at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi with the ball nipping around throughout the game. With the dry grass and little bit of breeze aiding the pace bowlers, both SA strike bowlers, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje registered their best T20I bowling figures, sinking the Bangladesh batting line-up. Choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, Temba Bavuma was rewarded with three powerplay wickets - all from Kagiso Rabada, who troubled Bangladesh batsmen with bounce and swing. In the last two balls of the fourth over Rabada first trapped Naim Sheikh to mid wicket with a length ball and then caught Soumya Sarkar plumb in the front of the stumps with a booming inswinging yorker bowling from over the wicket. That sent ripples across the Bangladesh batting order, who failed to find any sort of rhythm throughout the batting line up. If Rabada was unplayable in his first spell, Nortje was scary to face as he used the bounce of the pitch to push players on the backfoot and recorded his best tally in the T20I cricket, picking three wickets for just eight runs in his 3.2 overs. They were ably supported by medium pacer Dwaine Pretorius who bowled an economical spell of 3-0-11-1. Bangladesh were bundled out for just 84 runs in 18.2 overs. Coming into bat, the task should have been easy for the SA batters but it was not that kind of a wicket. Pacer Taskin Ahmed really made life difficult for the batters with his seam movement off the pitch and reduced SA to 28 for the loss of two wickets. With Quinton de Kock and Rezza Hendricks back into the hut, South Africa were dealt another blow in Aiden Markram who faced a spirited over from Taskin Ahmed. The Bangladeshi quick first jagged one back sharply into the right hander and then moved one out to catch a thick edge of the in form batsman. However, captain Temba Bavuma took over from their and made sure that South Africa would not make a meal out of the chase and wrapped the game up before 14 overs. With this win, South Africa have put themselves in a strong position to seal a semi-final spot alongside England with three wins from four games. They will face England in their final game of the Super 12 stage on Saturday, 6 November.

Preview | The hour of reckoning has arrived for the Indian cricket team

After enjoying a fairytale run in world cricket over the past one year, the Indian juggernaut has finally faltered in the T20 World Cup. In as the favourites to win the tournament alongside England, India have had a horror run in the tournament, losing 2 out of their first two games. One might as well just laugh at the fate of things given form that India were enjoying coming into this world tournament - albeit in a different format of the game. Coming into the tournament, India were on a relentless spree, ticking off Australia in their own backyard and then putting up incredible performances against England both home and away. However, this is not the longest format of the game and India have just been served a reality check by Pakistan and New Zealand in their first two matches of the Super 12 stage. At the verge of being knocked out of the tournament, India are now facing Afghanistan in a do or die match in the Sheikh Zayed Stadium at the Abu Dhabi on 3 November, Tuesday. Afghanistan have been impressive in the tournament so far winning two out of their three matches played. They would have won the third game as well, but a blistering 7-ball 25 from Asif Ali put dampener on their plans. With their spin bowling and their ability to make the boundary look small, Afghanistan are as big a competition as any for the Indian side - especially given the circumstances of the game. The qualification scenarios If India lose this one, they are done. They will be out of the tournament. If India win this one, they will keep their hopes alive, but will have to depend on the results of the other games. They will need Afghanistan to beat New Zealand to clear their path for the semi finals. If Afghanistan win this match, they will have 6 points and will more or less confirm their place in the semi finals owing to their huge run rate. Key pointers of the game The Spin Twins India’s issues with leg spin are well recorded and this game houses the best leg spinner in modern day cricket. It has been over six years since Rashid Khan debuted in international cricket and even today in the age of data and analytics, players have found him incredibly difficult to read him. Alongside him, Rashid will have the services of Mujeeb Ur Rahman who ripped through the Scotland line-up in their first game of the Super 12 stage. He was declared unfit for the game against Namibia and Afghanistan would really hope that he can come back for this crucial tie against India. The Retirement of Asghar Afghan The legendary captain who has an incredible story with the Afghan team, retired in the game against Namibia. The decision supposedly was taken to give the youngsters a chance to play in the premier tournament in the world. So, one place gets opened automatically in the Afghan side, and that place might be filled by Hashmatullah Shahidi who recently became the first Afghan player to score a double century in Test cricket. An anchor by trade, the left hander has an average of 40 in T20s with a strike-rate of 120. He is technically sound and could see through the tough middle phases of the India bowling attack setting up the likes of Gulabadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi to go for the big hits. In the domestic T20 competitions Shahidi has shown that he has added the big hitting prowess to his name, but that bit of the game is untested in the international stage. Afghan Yorkers Barring the eight overs of quality spin bowling, India will have to be wary of Hamid Hasan. A good old fashioned fast bowler, currently at 34 years of age, Hasan just likes to bowl fast. He has a yorker that nips back sharply into the right hander, and the out of form Indian batting order will need to watch out for that. Quality of Indian Players You can have one bad day, two bad days, but the kind of quality that the Indian line-up has, it is very very difficult to keep them quiet for an extended period of time. The team is process-oriented and Virat Kohli has gone on record that they know exactly what they need to do in the 22-yards to pull this tournament back in their favour. If fit, Suryakumar Yadav could be India’s biggest bet to see through the middle overs as Virat Kohli tries to save himself against the likes of Rashid Khan and Indian management would be doing everything to get the Mumbai man back into contention. SKY was out of the New Zealand game due to a back spasm and might get back into the side against Afghanistan The Batting Order Rejig India rejigged their batting order heavily for the New Zealand game. Rohit Sharma was dropped to three, Virat Kohli batted at four while Ishan Kishan opened the innings alongside KL Rahul. That match did not solve any of India’s batting problems and put them in a precarious position instead. It is possible that Ishan Kishan might get dropped for this game, with India going back to their favoured combination of KL and Rohit at the top with Kohli and SKY to follow. Match Details Afghanistan vs India Match 33, Group 2, Super 12 Venue - Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Date & Time - 3 November, 7:30 PM IST (6 PM Local) Broadcast - Star Sports Network & Hotstar Pitch Report The dry grass at Abu Dhabi has supported pace and bounce in this tournament. In the Bangladesh vs South Africa game, played on Tuesday, 2 November, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje had a field day, terrorising the batsmen with their seam movement and bounce. With a little hint of movement through the air, pacers might have a great day throughout the game and spinners might enjoy bowling in the first half of the game. The second half of the night game has been heavily dominated by dew, and teams have found it easy to chase. If you win the toss, bowl first. Team News India At the time of writing, there has been no confirmation about the availability of Suryakumar Yadav. India have shown faith in the abilities of Hardik Pandya and will hope that this is the game where he comes to the party. Ishan Kishan will likely be dropped for SKY if he is fit, and India are going to keep the rest of the XI same. Probable XI Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammad Shami Afghanistan Afghanistan have had a great time in the T20 World Cup barring the final overs against Pakistan and they will look to back their strengths in the game. They will look to get Mujeeb into the line up. With Asghar Afghan retiring to make place for youngsters in the team, Hashmatullah Shahidi might get a game while Karim Janat might make way for Mujeeb Ur Rahman Probable XI Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen ul Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman CE Fantasy XI Mohammad Shahzad, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (vc), Najibullah Zadran, KL Rahul, Mohammad Nabi (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Rashid Khan, Naveen ul Haq, Varun Chakravarthy

T20 World Cup | IND vs AFG: We can defeat India, says Hamid Hassan

Afghanistan’s Hamid Hassan has put his weight behind the side and said that it is a “complete team” especially with an equipped middle order and a bunch of world-class spinners. “Afghanistan is a very good batting or bowling, fielding has also improved. We have the best spinners in the world, Nabi, Rashid and Mujeeb and it is a proper complete team,” he said. “If you see our top order it sometimes clicks or sometimes doesn’t click but our middle order is getting runs and that’s a good sign. The good news is that we haven’t been all out in the games, we have only lost five or six wickets and we have a long batting side until number nine,” said Hassan while replying to a query from ANI. Hassan further went on to add that the Afghan team does stand a chance to clinch a win against India in the next fixture. “We have the good opportunity against India if we put good runs on board we can defeat them by bowling and fielding,” he said. India are yet to win a match in the ongoing T20 World Cup after they suffered defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand. Afghanistan on the other side have won two out of the three matches that they have played and have four points under their belt.