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T20 World Cup Southee Boult Eager To Repeat Pakistans Heroics Against Virat Kohlis Troops

T20 World Cup | Southee -Boult eager to repeat Pakistan's heroics against Virat Kohli's troops

India were one of the firm favourites if not the favourites to go all the way in the T20 World Cup but they were rocked early in the tournament by Pakistan. Their openers were proven not good enough on that night by an express and swinging Shaheen Afridi and they could not recover from the early setbacks.

On the contrary, New Zealand struggled to bat against the same bowling attack on Sharjah pitch but their bowlers fought hard to make a contest out of a one-way looking game.

Now, both of them are coming head to head against each other, New Zealand are not hiding the way they want to contain India and they have a readymade model available to them.

A lot of what India will achieve in their second game will hinge heavily on the eight overs of the pace duo of Tim Southee and Trent Boult and The Blackcaps are eager to put the Indian batting lineup under pressure from the word go and Trent Boult, who mirror Shaheen Shah Afridi in terms of what he brings to the table, is looking forward to mirroring the same damaging effect on the men in blue.

"Not too sure what the plan is with what overs certain bowlers are bowling, but yeah the way Shaheen bowled the other night was... from a left-armer watching on I thought it was amazing. But, yeah, there's qualify batsmen in that Indian line-up. Early wickets are definitely the focus for us as a bowling group. But, here, we just need to be nice and clear and nice and accurate where we are trying to put the ball. But, hopefully from my point of view, it swings around a little bit and I can mirror what Shaheen did the other night,” Boult said.

"They (India) are a quality side. They have shown that for many years and for them as well coming off a loss, they will be eager to win as well. So, it should be a great contest against two very good sides. It's always tight in the first game. We went far off against a quality Pakistan side but we need to look forward in such a short tournament. There are no easy games so it's now about focus shifting towards India," Southee said after a practice session on Friday.

Boult did not limit his view of the games that have gone by in bowling only and emphasized the need to start well against a “quality” Indian side. After expressing the eagerness to shine bright with the ball if they bowl first, Boult also highlighted the need to bat on the top of their game with the bat.

"Whatever we do first, we need to do it extremely well," Bout said. "India brings a lot of challenges - quality batting line-up, but with the ball we just need to be clear about the options on how to shut these guys down and obviously give them a bigger chase as possible, but it's going to be a good challenge. Our first game in Dubai, but the wicket looks pretty good there. Yeah, really look forward to taking them on,” Boult emphasized.

India have not had any success against New Zealand in the last many games in world cups and have lost many high-stakes games in the last couple of years. However, Boult declined that a dominating record against Virat Kohli’s men gives the Blackcaps any “extra edge”.

"I wouldn't say we have an extra edge," Boult said. "Both sides are stacked with quality players. In terms of our team, we're definitely excited about the opportunity that lies ahead for us. Few guys have been here in the UAE, playing the IPL, have relationships and have played with a lot of these Indian guys a lot. Here's hoping we can put it all together tomorrow afternoon and get our ball rolling."

Both India and New Zealand will be desperate to get off the mark in the World Cup and hence the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson will bank on his experienced pace duo to translate their understanding of the game and condition into performances against India.

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ENG vs AUS | It would probably be our most difficult game: Eoin Morgan

England skipper Eoin Morgan confessed that his team’s clash against Australia might be the most difficult game so far in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2021. Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Morgan said that Australia are co-favourites for the tournament alongside England. "It's probably going to be one of our most difficult games. Australia are a very strong side. Coming into the tournament, they would probably be considered joint-second favourites, along with us,” said Morgan in Dubai. "The challenge for us and them is that we're not playing at home so it's about trying to adapt our style of play. Early momentum in any game can go a long way to winning. But like we've witnessed over the last couple of years, if we don't manage to gain that momentum, I think we have guys that can either wrestle it back or counter-punch,” he added. Asked about whether or not the result of this game would hamper both sides’ Ashes preparation which would begin in December, Morgan said that to even think about such things was trivial in approach as the red and white ball formats now have day and night difference between them. "I've played Test matches and have played 50-over and T20 for a long period of time. There was a time and place where 50-over cricket was closely aligned with Test match cricket and the way that it was played. Particularly top of the order and how your quicks bowled, but I think white-ball cricket has moved so far away from red-ball cricket that there's just day and night between a psychological blow in one format in comparison to the other,” said the 34-year-old. The two teams are unbeaten so far in the tournament and this clash will determine which team goes to the top of the table in Group 1 from where two out of the six teams would move to the next round, which would be the semi-finals.

Hardik Pandya is absolutely fine: Virat Kohli gives update on all-rounder's fitness

India will be up against New Zealand in their second Super 12 fixture of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday. All-rounder Hardik Pandya’s fitness has been the talk of the town while he was also hit on the shoulder during the match against Pakistan and didn't take the field. Captain Virat Kohli has now cleared the air and said that the right-hander is “absolutely fine”. "Hardik Pandya is fine. If you're talking about the blow on his shoulder, he's absolutely fine,” Kohli said during the pre-match press conference. The skipper further added that Shardul Thakur is also in the team management’s plans. "Shardul is definitely a guy who's in our plans constantly, making a case for himself. He is definitely someone who can bring in a lot of value to the team,” Kohli said. Both India and New Zealand are coming into this match after suffering defeat in their previous games against Pakistan. The Men in Blue were thumped by Pakistan by 10 wickets. Later, the Babar Azam-led side beat the Blackcaps by 5 wickets in their second match. India and New Zealand would now be looking to get back into the groove and get some positive results when they lock horns with each other on Sunday.

T20 World Cup | India desperate to break New Zealand jinx, bring World Cup campaign back on track

The buildup— curse against New Zealand Team India suffered a major setback in their opening game of the T20 World Cup and the Virat Kohli’s men had to engulf what no other Indian team of the past had to deal with—a loss against Pakistan in the World Cup. However, there was little disagreement from their side that Pakistan were the superior side on the night in terms of performances and hence there was overwhelming acceptance of the loss as one bad day in office. Indian fans and the experts who rate them highly and one of the firm favourites to go all the way suggested India to take the defeat on their chin and move on quickly towards the challenge ahead. But, is that so easy? They are slated to face New Zealand in their next challenge and none of their supporters or pundits have to scratch their memories with great efforts to recall what has been the scoreline in the recent past. After all, India’s fate in the World Cup games against New Zealand has been similar to what was Pakistan’s fate against India in the World Cup games before their last meeting. The last time Men in Blue defeated the Blackcaps in the premiere tournament, was when Rahul Dravid was their wicketkeeper-batsman, in a world that did not know T20 cricket. They won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup and were defeated in the only game which was against the Blackcaps and the fortunes remained the same over the next one and a half decades. They were knocked out of the tournament in the ICC ODI World Cup in 2019 after facing a defeat in the semi-finals. To add to that, the agony and helplessness of Virat Kohli after losing the World Test Championship Final would be still alive in Indian fans’ memories. It is with that baggage of horrible recent history that the Men in Blue will set foot on the park against the Kiwis to rescue their T20 World Cup journey after a turbulent start against Pakistan. On the other hand, New Zealand too have played just one game and they too fell short of matching the form and firepower of Pakistan in their opening encounter. Apart from Pakistan, who have won all their games, only Afghanistan have won one game in their group and one among New Zealand or India will have to consider that they might enter the NRR battle in their path to enter the semi-final stage of the WC. Match details India vs New Zealand, Match no.: 28, Super 12 Group 2 Date and time: Oct 31, 06:00 PM LOCAL, 07:30 IST, 02:30 GMT Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Pitch details The pitches at the Dubai International Stadium have not been consistent in nature to give absolute certainty to any side. Given its a night game, both Kohli and Williamson would look to chase down the target looking at the precedents in the tournament and a larger than life factor of dew. However, it will be India, who stacked their side with a lot of spinners, to cover for all kinds of challenges, will be more desperate to win the toss so that they can extract turn before it becomes absolutely impossible to turn the ball on the pitch. Virat Kohli has been terribly unlucky with the toss and he will have to find new luck to have both great bowling and batting conditions in the game. Contest within the contest Trent Boult vs Rohit Sharma Rohit Sharma, who could do no wrong with the bat in white-ball formats a few months ago has been suddenly caught in the eye of a storm. He was made to look ordinary and shell shocked by a swinging yorker from Shaheen Shah Afridi in the last game and India could not recover from that jolt. Kohli was asked if Ishan Kishan would have been a better choice to open the batting and the Indian skipper was clearly irked by that question. However, his place in the side can’t become beyond questioning and he certainly needs to come back to his best to silence his critics and provide India with a platform to go big. But, he has another challenge that can appear similar to Shaheen’s challenge, at least on the face of it, to conquer in the next game. It was not the yorker and nor the speed that did him in the last game, but it was the old dreaded swing that he could not get ready for on the first ball and Trent Boult is all geared up to “mirror” the same damage inflicted by Shaheen in that game. "Not too sure what the plan is with what overs certain bowlers are bowling, but yeah the way Shaheen bowled the other night was... from a left-armer watching on I thought it was amazing. But, yeah, there's quality batsmen in that Indian line-up. Early wickets are definitely the focus for us as a bowling group. But, here, we just need to be nice and clear and nice and accurate where we are trying to put the ball. But, hopefully, from my point of view, it swings around a little bit and I can mirror what Shaheen did the other night (laughs),” Boult said. Team News India India were fretting over the form and fitness of Hardik Pandya before the first game but Kohli backed his trusted lieutenant to do the job, with the bat. He looked out of touch as has been the case and with Pakistan bowlers having a night of their lives, India could not exploit the last couple of overs for a lot of runs. However, Hardik’s unavailability as a bowler was a bigger conundrum for them and in a welcome sign, he has bowled some overs in the nets. He looked fit while running in but how much cushioning he would be able to provide to Kohli would be a matter of debate and the team management will once again have to bank on their gut feeling and confidence in Hardik’s ability with the bat. India lacked the momentum with the bat in the middle and late phase of the game and hence there can be an argument over whether Kishan should come in for Pandya who is also out of form. The move however looks implausible as of now and the hard-hitting right-hander enjoys great confidence of the skipper and team. India were also left second with the ball as both Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked out of rhythm. Bhuvneshwar was more disappointing of the two as he struggled with both line and length from the word go and it has been the case for him in the recent past. There must have been a mulling from the team over playing Shardul Thakur, whose stock as a bowler and hard-hitting batsman has risen to unprecedented levels in the recent months over Bhuvneshwar, but Kohli backed his old horses to do the job. Apart from the two positions, India have a settled unit and they will not look to make too many changes as Kohli has already suggested that India would not hit the “panic button” so early. Probable XI Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah New Zealand New Zealand were rocked before their first game of the tournament as Lockie Ferguson got ruled out of the tournament and his replacement—Adam Milne, who could provide similar thunderbolts to the Blackcaps bowling attack could not be approved quickly enough. New Zealand coach conceded that they were forced to play without Milne in the last game, but he is among the squad and raring to unleash his raw pace and bounce on Indian batsmen. They were in favour of playing one spinner in Micthell Santner in the last game and it’s unlikely their approach would have changed so much. However, records of India’s heavyweights such as Kohli and Rohit against leg-spinners could make them think of Ish Sodhi as a compelling option. Daryl Mitchell did not look out of sorts at the top of the order and should continue opening the innings against India as well. James Neesham did not have a great game against Pakistan and New Zealand could go for Todd Astle, who can provide them batting depth along with a leg-spin option with the ball to cover the weakness of two of India’s top three batsmen. Probable XI Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (C), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham/Todd Astle, Tim Seifert (WK), Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult CE Fantasy XI Rishabh Pant, Martin Guptill, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah Captain: KL Rahul Vice-captain: Kane Williamson.

WBBL 2021 | Sophie Devine wins Super Over thriller, Deepti Sharma leads Thunder season’s opening win

Sophie Devine seems to be in the form of her life as after scoring a hundred in her last game against the Sydney Thunder Women, she went on to win the Super Over for her team Perth Scorchers Women against Adelaide Strikers Women to win to back to back games and move up to the third spot in the points table, just two points below leaders Melbourne Renegades Women. While batting first after winning the toss, Scorchers could get to only 121-5 as the wicket was low and slow at Lilac Hill Park in Perth. Chasing the small target of 122, Strikers didn’t have a great start either as they were reduced to 88-7 in the 17th over and required 34 from 23 balls with only bowling all-rounder and experienced Tegan McPharlin in the middle alongside fast bowler Sarah Coyte. The two were able to score 33 off the last 23 balls, which resulted in the match getting tied and as a result, Perth Scorchers and Women’s Big Bash League 2021 saw its second Super Over. In the Super Over, Strikers batted first as they had batted second in the main match. Unable to score even a single boundary against Marizanne Kapp, Strikers could reach only nine runs in the only over. It seemed like getting close as 10 runs were required of the last over and Megan Schutt, an experienced international player, who in the main game had given only 19 runs in her four overs, was going to bowl it. However, Sophie Devine had other ideas and hit two sixes off the first two balls to end the game without any fuss whatsoever. As far as the Indian talent was concerned, it was a mixed day as Deepti Sharma with her all-around show won the first game for Sydney Thunder against Melbourne Stars. She scored 16 off 14 balls and took 3-25 in her four overs in the defence of 133. Courtesy of her all-around show, the Thunder managed to win the game by 19 runs. Smriti Mandhana, who played in the same game failed with the bat as she was out for only three runs. In another game, four Indians were in the fray as Melbourne Renegades faced Sydney Sixers. Harmanpreet Kaur’s 43 off 32 along with Jemimah Rodriguez’s 25 off 28 and Jess Duffin’s 41 off 32 balls pushed the Gades to 142 in their 20 overs. Radha Yadav, bowling for Sixers did pick a wicket in her four overs, but Shafali Verma failed to get going once again as she was pushed down the order to bat at number four. She could score only 20 off 15 balls as Sixers failed to chase the total, remaining 12 runs behind the target.