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T20 World Cup | Welcome sign for Team India as Hardik Pandya resumes bowling in nets

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In a welcome sign for the men in blue who were smashed to all parts of the ground in the last game against Pakistan, Hardik Pandya showed signs of coming closer to regaining bowling fitness. He bowled in the nets under the watchful eyes of the head coach Ravi Shastri and mentor MS Dhoni on Wednesday, PTI reported.

Hardik went through usual fitness drills including short sprints conducted by the strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai and physio Nitin Patel followed by a 20 minute-long bowling spell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur in the nets, the report added.

Hardik had also injured his shoulder in the last game and did not take the field while India were defending a total of 151 runs. He was taken for scans and the return to nets and bowling all but rule out his overall unavailability from the next game against the Blackcaps.

Hardik’s return to bowling will give the team management the sixth bowling option which they clearly lacked in the face of an onslaught by the Pakistan openers. There has been a school of thought that doesn’t rate Hardik highly as a specialist batsman on current form and argued his selection against Ishan Kishan.

Hardik has been in the middle of patchy form with the bat and the lack of bowling fitness made his place questionable in the Indian team. He struggled through the entire course of the Indian Premier League, India’s tour of Sri Lanka but Virat Kohli so far has overlooked the current form and has chosen to throw his weight behind him based on his credentials and track record.

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T20 World Cup | SCO vs NAM: Ruben Trumpelmann, Smit power Namibia to positive start

Namibia began the Super 12s round on a positive note after they etched a 4-wicket win against Scotland in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Chasing a target of 110 runs, Namibia openers Craig Williams and Michael van Lingen started the proceedings in a decent manner and put 28 on the board for the first wicket before van Lingen departed for 18 off 24. Williams was then joined by Zane Green in the middle and the two batters stitched a partnership of 22 runs. But Green’s dismissal was followed by a couple of more wickets in quick succession, leaving Namibia in a spot of bother at 67/4. JJ Smit and David Wiese then came for the side’s rescue and built a partnership of 35 runs for the fifth wicket to get Namibia back on track. The Scotland bowlers did manage to get Wiese’s wicket and followed it with Jan Frylinck’s scalp but it was certainly too late for them as Namibia eventually went over the line with five balls to spare. Smit remained unbeaten at 23-ball 32 during the course. Michael Leask picked up a couple of wickets for 12 runs in 2 overs for Scotland while Bradley Wheal had one wicket to his name at the cost of 14 runs in 4 overs. Earlier, in the day, Ruben Trumpelmann ripped apart the Scotland top-order as he scalped three wickets in the very first over. The misery didn’t end here as the Scotland team was reduced to 18/4 and were left tottering at 57/5 before Leask and Chris Greaves joined hands to provide some resistance to the side. The two batsmen put up a stand of 36 runs before Leask was cleaned up by Smit for 44 off 27. Scotland lost another couple of wickets and were restricted to 109/8 in 20 overs. Trumpelmann eventually returned with figures of 3/17 in 4 overs while Frylinck picked up two for 10 in his 4 overs. Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus expressed delight on another World Cup win. “Delighted to get another World Cup win, another proud moment for the team. From here on we have to lift our level. We are excited for the challenge. Hopefully we can execute on those days. We all know we back each other. It was always about showing good intent. Luckily we got few partnerships to get over the line,” he said in the post-match presentation. Namibia will now play Afghanistan on Sunday in Abu Dhabi while Scotland will be up against New Zealand on November 3 in Dubai.

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T20 World Cup | Ruben Trumpelmann becomes first bowler to pick three wickets in opening over

It was a stampede by Namibian pacer Ruben Trumpelmann as he ran over the Scotland batting’s top order and picked three wickets in the very first over to break the backbone of their batting. It was the first time in the history of T20 World Cups that a bowler picked three wickets in the very first over a match. While he bowled George Munsey on the very first ball of the game, South Africa born then removed Calum MacLeod and Riche Berrington on the third and fourth ball of the over to get on a hattrick. MacLeod was caught behind on an outswinger while Berrington was caught napping as an inswinger hit him on the front pad and was given leg before wicket on the umpire’s call. However, on the hat-trick ball, he tried to bring the ball back in for Craig Wallace, but the ball swung too much and hit the ball outside the leg stump. Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus had won the toss and decided to bowl first. Berrington is captaining Scotland as regular skipper Kyle Coetzer is out with a finger injury. This is by Trumplemann’s best bowling figures. He is playing in only his sixth T20I and before this game, had picked only five wickets with the best figures of 2/22. This is the first game for Namibia in the Super 12 stage of the tournament after they surprisingly beat Ireland and Netherlands in the Round 1 of the tournament to qualify for Super 12 as the top two teams from Group A alongside Sri Lanka.

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T20 World Cup | ENG vs BAN: England continue dominance; etch easy win against Bangladesh

England thoroughly dominated Bangladesh on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi to make it two wins out of the two matches that they have played in the on-going T20 World Cup. Riding on some aggressive batting from Jason Roy, England chased down a target of 125 runs by 8 wickets in just 14.1 overs. Roy along with Jos Buttler gave a steady start to the English team as the two put 39 runs for the first wicket in the fifth over. But Buttler eventually departed for 18 off 18 and Roy was then joined by Dawid Malan in the middle. The two batsmen then chipped in with a partnership of 73 runs for the second wicket before Roy was sent back in the hut for a 38-ball 61. The right-hander was caught by Nasum Ahmed off Shoriful Islam when the team score read 112. Later, Malan and Jonny Bairstow took the team over the line eventually. Earlier, in the day, Bangladesh batsmen failed to leave an impact. After opting to bat first, Bangladesh began the proceedings in a dismal manner as they lost some early wickets and were reduced to 26/3. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah tried to steady the ship as they put 37 runs for the fourth wicket. But Mushfiqur’s dismissal broke the shackles and Bangladesh began to lose wickets at regular intervals. They were soon left tottering at 98/7 and were eventually restricted to 124/9 in 20 overs. Tymal Mills was the pick of the bowlers for England after he returned with figures of 3/27 in 4 overs while Livingstone and Moeen Ali scalped a couple of wickets each. England captain Eoin Morgan hailed the bowlers and said that they have been very disciplined. “The bowlers have been very disciplined and have adapted well. The fielding has been good as well and has backed the bowling as well. It is a huge compliment the way our white ball cricket has come up. We have had players fighting for places. It is crucial for Roy and Dawid to get some time on the wicket. It is great to see him like this,” he said in the post-match presentation. England will now play Australia on Saturday in Dubai while Bangladesh will be up against the West Indies on Friday in Sharjah.