We have looked towards MS Dhoni as a mentor even when he was our captain: KL Rahul

World T20 2021: It's Ireland bowlers vs Sri Lanka batters as both teams aim to capitalise on positive start

With a win under their belt, Sri Lanka and Ireland will be up against each other in Abu Dhabi. Ireland’s Curtis Campher was on song after he scalped four wickets on four deliveries on the trot against Netherlands as the Irish team bundled out their opponents for 106 in 20 overs. Later, they did lose three wickets but went over the line quite comfortably by 7 wickets and in 15.1 overs. On the otters side, the Lankan bowlers thoroughly dominated the Namibia batting unit and bowled them out for 96 in less than 20 overs. But the Dasun Shabaka-led side had some early hiccups after they were reduced to 26/3. Nevertheless, Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa made sure that they anchor the side to a win eventually. Sri Lanka clinched a victory by 7 wickets. The one thing that the Sri Lankan team management would need to fix is the start with the bat. The Asian side did struggle to get a decent start despite chasing a low total especially with the likes of Kusal Perera and Dinesh Chandimal in the top order. Match Details SL vs IRE, 8th Match, Group A, ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2021 Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2021 Time: 7:30 PM Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Pitch Report The track in Abu Dhabi is likely to assist the batsmen throughout the game but spinners can still have some advantage in the middle overs. Another major factor can be the occurrence of dew as it is an evening fixture. So, if you win the toss, elect to field as the bowling unit of both the sides unleashed some brilliance in their last respective matches. Ireland’s equipped bowling unit Curtis Campher’s hat trick and four-fer against Netherlands grabbed all the attention. But apart from Campher’s performance, Mark Adair and Joshua Little were also the pick of the bowlers after the way they kept the batters on the back foot. While Adair returned with figures of 3/9 in 4 overs, Little picked up one wicket for 14 runs in four overs. Paul Stirling bowled just one over but he was economical too as he only gave one run during the course. So, with the bowling attack of this kind and considering the way Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen fared in their last encounter, they might face some difficulties to gather runs. Sri Lanka’s top order woes A cricket fan would expect a team of Sri Lanka’s calibre to chase down a target of 97 runs by 10 wickets in a T20I. But their top order which has experienced lads like Kusal Perera and Dinesh Chandimal in the ranks completely failed to fire against Netherlands. There came a stage when the Lankan lions were struggling at 26/3 but thanks to Fernando and Rajapaksa, they eventually won the game. But the problems and issues haven’t sorted yet. The kind of bowling attack that Ireland possess is lethal in slowing down the scoring rate at any given situation. So, Sri Lanka would need to get a decent and steady start to prevent themselves for getting under pressure. Probable XI Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara Ireland: Paul Stirling, Kevin O Brien, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Neil Rock (wk), Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Benjamin White, Joshua Little CE Fantasy XI Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Kevin O’Brien, Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling, Wanindu Hasaranga (C), Simi Singh, Curtis Campher (VC), Dushmantha Chameera, Joshua Little, Maheesh Theekshana

World T20 2021 | OMA vs BAN: Watch Fayaaz Butt, the ignored Pakistan U-19 star catch a screamer for Oman

Oman’s Fayyaz Butt took a brilliant catch off his own bowling to dismiss Mahedi Hasan of Bangladesh in their ongoing clash of Round 1 in Group B. The catch was very important as it put Bangladesh under severe pressure as they were reduced to 21-2 in the fifth over. But more than the catch, it was Butt’s bowling action matching legendary Pakistan all-rounder Mudassar Nazar and his background as a former Pakistan U-19 player. Fayyaz Butt, born in the Sialkot town of Punjab province in Pakistan had dreams of representing his country at the highest level as he went on to play the Under-19 World Cup for the Men in Green in Australia. He was even instrumental in getting Pakistan to the Under -19 World Cup final, beating arch-rivals India in the quarter-final in which he was also Man of the Match for his efforts of 4-27 in that game, picking the wickets of the likes of KL Rahul. But come 2021 and the same man is playing a senior Men’s World Cup indeed, but only for Oman. Though he did fulfil his dream of playing in the World cup, but not for the country he was born in. Butt debuted for Oman in ODIs in 2019 against Namibia and he made his T20I debut in the same year against Ireland.

After losing their first games badly, Dutch and Eagles fight it out for survival

It wasn’t an ideal start for the Netherlands team which is supposed to be playing with its golden generation of cricketers in this year’s World T20 2021. They were rolled over for 106 while batting and then in bowling didn’t get enough wickets either as Ireland chased down the total with more than 30 balls remaining. This meant that it wasn’t just a loss but a loss so big that their net run rate took a big blow and now they are not only dependent upon themselves to win the next two games, but would hope that either Sri Lanka and Ireland lose one match very badly. Namibia on the other hand had too much to do in terms of tackling the seasoned Sri Lankan bowlers and that resulted in them being bowled out for a meagre 96. And although the Sri Lankans lost their first three wickets quickie with none among the top three getting into double figures, Avishka Fernando and Bahnauka Rajapaksa made sure that the match was finished in only the 14th over without the islanders losing any more wicket. Courtesy of that defeat, the Eagles are very low down the barrel in terms of the net run rate as well. Thus a battle between these two sides is not only of victory but both the teams would look to win big to keep their hopes of qualifications alive. This is Namibia’s best chance of winning a World Cup game with the team that they have got. The last time they were in a World Cup, they lost all their six games in 2003. On the other hand, Netherlands have won before, even been to the next stage in previous editions, but this time around, they had come with their best possible 15 members and were looking to make it count. But the first game would have done massive damage to those goals. Still, the Dutch would like to believe that they can go ahead from here and still believe in that dream of chasing glory with their golden generation. However, they would have to make some changes in the playing XI, especially bringing in Stephen Myburgh, Timm van der Gugten and Paul van Meekeren, the experienced trio in place of Bass de Leede, Brandon Glover and most probably wither Fred Klaasen or Colin Ackermann. Namibia vs Netherlands: Match Details Match Number - 07 Date and Time - October 20, 2021, 03:30 pm IST, 02:00 pm Local, 10:00 am GMT Venue -Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Broadcast and Livestream - Star Sports Network and Hotstar Pitch Report As far as the evidence from the first day of the tournament is concerned, the wicket at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi looked good for batting even as the odd ball did stop and kept low a bit. However, the batting by Sri Lankan and Irish batters showed that the pitch could have been trusted. Weather Forecast With plenty of sunshine and no chances of rain or any other disturbance in the offing, this day game wouldn’t have anything depending on the weather. Probable XI Namibia Stephan Baard, Zane Green (wk), Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Pikky Ya France, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz Netherlands Max O’Dowd, Ben Cooper, Stephan Myburgh, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards (wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Pieter Seelaar (c), Timm van der Gugten, Logan van Beek, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren CE XI Fantasy team Wicketkeeper Scott Edwards Batters Max O’Dowd, Ben Cooper, Gerhard Erasmus All-rounders Pieter Seelaar, David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck Bowlers Timm van der Gugten, Logan van Beek, Bernard Scholtz Vice-Captain JJ Smit Captain Max O’Dowd

PNG fighting spirit too little too late as Berrington, Davey power Scotland to second win

The way Norman Vanua and Kiplin Doriga were hitting the ball between overs 14 to 16 and brought the required run rate from more than 12 at the start of the 14th over to only 46 from the last 24 balls with two set batsmen in, it seemed like Scotland were about to have a taste of their medicine. But first Mark Watt and then Josh Davey bowled brilliantly to squeeze the run-scoring as well as get both batters out to make it almost impossible for two new png batters to get 38 off the last two overs. However, Chad Soper didn’t lose hope and thanks to six on the last ball of the 19th over from number 11 Kabua Morea, the Barramundis needed 24 from the last six balls. With Soper hitting the second ball of Josh Davey’s and innings’ last over for a huge six over the cow corner, for a moment ‘remember the name’ must have flashed in front of the eyes of the supporters of the Pacific nation. But it wasn’t to be as Davey, who had bowled brilliantly up until then bowled a slower bouncer, the same ploy he used against Vanua, and got the wicket of Soper to end the innings and win it for his team by 17 runs. Davey’s figures of 4-18 are now the best bowling figures for a Scotland player in a T20 World Cup game. Though PNG got so close at the end, it didn’t look like happening when they had lost five wickets for 35 runs and had gotten off to a worse possible start. Their top two batters in skipper Assad Vala and Charles Amini were gone and it was only up to Vanua and Sese Bau to get the team as close as possible to the target. The two partnerships of 37 between Bau and Vanua and 53 between Vanua and Doriga were crucial in getting where PNG eventually got to. Earlier in the day, after winning the toss Scottish skipper Kyle Coetzer decided to bat first. Though Coetzer himself and the other opener George Munsey failed once again, Richie Berrington and Matthew Cross steadied the ship with a 92 run stand. Though Cross got out on 45, Berrington made sure that he completed his third T20I fifty. The Scotts were going great guns until the 17th over with Berrington touching his 70 run mark. However, in the last three overs, they lost track and lost six wickets for just 19 runs as the PNG team pulled back and restricted the Scots to only 165-9. Morea was the pick of the bowlers for PNG as he ended up with figures of 4-31 in his four overs. The Scots are in for a great game once again when they face Oman in their last game and that game might just turn out to be a virtual qualifier if Bangladesh go on to win against Oman and PNG in their next two games.