World T20 2021 | Scotland squad is full of match-winners: Jonathan Trott

We’ve got nothing to lose: Watch KKR replug McCullum’s season-defining speech ahead of final

The Kolkata Knight Riders are living a life in the second leg of the Indian Premier League, which could only be termed as a fairytale, given the kind of comeback they made in the tournament. From being two wins from the first seven games to playing the final are no mean achievement at all and that is the centre of the motivational video that the franchise has put out at its social media handles ahead of the final clash against Chennai Super Kings, who have a comeback story of their own. The 48-second clip is taken from the speech that coach Brendon McCullum made ahead of the start of the second leg in UAE. It was only then that McCullum said, “Imagine things work out and then five weeks from now and we are standing with the trophy after being two wins from seven games. Imagine that journey and the stories that you would get to tell.” “The experiences that you get to share, that’s what in front of us, that should enthuse us, excite us. We have got nothing to lose lads and that makes us dangerous,” he adds. The story has almost reached its climax, with the KKR team, led by Eoin Morgan and boosted by performances from Sunil Narine, young Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson and Shakib Al Hasan, making it to the final. But will the needing be the same as imagined by coach McCullum and his team? Only time will tell.

World T20 2021| Experienced Bangladesh seek positive start

“Stealing a win from the jaws of defeat” is a prominent saying especially in sports. But for Bangladesh, the phrase gets a bit different. There have been instances where the Bangladesh side has failed to keep the nerves and suffered defeats from the position where they were well set for easy wins. For instance, that encounter against India in the World T20 2016 where Bangladesh required 2 runs off the last three deliveries but Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah gave away their wickets while taking the aerial route and the rest was done by MS Dhoni and his swift running and great presence of mind. Dhoni was involved in Mustafizur Rahman’s runout who was running towards the striker’s end for a single to take the match in the Super Over. There have been multiple instances of the same where Bangladesh have just let go of a game from their hands. But if they had lost matches from winning positions, the Bangla tigers have been involved in some major upsets too. They defeated Pakistan in the 1999 edition of the 50-over World Cup, India in 2007 in the group stage and South Africa in the Super 8s, England in 2011 and 2015, South Africa and West Indies in 2019. Apart from this, they do have some bilateral series wins under their belt as well. Having said that, Bangladesh will have to battle it out in the qualifying stage to make it to the Super 12s in the World T20 2021. Bangladesh begin the campaign against Scotland in Al Amerat on October 17, 2021 (Sunday) which is also the second match of the opening day of the tournament. The Asian side will then lock horns with Oman on October 19, 2021 and PNG on October 21 at the same venue. The side will be led by Mahmudullah while the squad comprises the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Taskin Ahmed. Team News The opening batsman Tamim Iqbal had opted out of the tournament earlier stating that it would be unfair to the players who have been playing regularly in the side for quite sometime while he has been away after the left-handed batsman had hurt his knee during Sri Lanka tour. "I don't think my injury is a concern, because I think I'd be fit before the World Cup. The main reason is I don't think it would be fair on those players who have played in the last 15-16 T20 matches that I haven't played,” he said. Though Tamim made it clear that he wasn’t retiring from T20Is. Experience is all that matters The likes of Rahim, Shakib and even Mustafizur are probably the most experienced players in the Bangladesh unit. Rahim would have the onus of anchoring the innings for the side as he has the ability to hold the fort at one end while the other batters can chip in with some runs and build partnerships with him to hand the team a good total. The expectations would be a bit high from Shakib and Mustafizur as the two players are in the groove as they were a part of the Indian Premier League held in UAE. While Shakib’s side KKR made it to the final, Rajasthan Royals for whom Mustafizur plays gave a tough fight but eventually bowed out of the tournament in the league stage itself. The team management and the fans would expect Shakib to produce some impressive performances both with the bat and ball. The left-handed all-rounder is capable of picking up wickets consistently while can chip in with important runs just like he scored a four against RCB in the eliminator match to help his side reduce the pressure and eventually win the game. Mustafizur on the other side has been pretty successful in deceiving the batsmen with the slow deliveries and if he continues to do so, the opponents’ batting unit would struggle against him. Apart from these three, skipper Mahmudullah, Liton Das, Sarkar and Taskin Ahmed are other prominent names in the line up. Batting- A concern The Bangladesh side might struggle in capitalising on the good starts that they get. The power-hitting in the middle-overs can become an area of concern for the team management and probably this would be the time when the Bangla tigers would need their skipper going all guns blazing. Mahmudullah is one of the batsmen in the unit who can take on the bowlers, fire all cylinders and fetch some quick runs. Bangladesh have never won a World T20 and would seek a positive start when they take the field on Sunday. SQUAD: Mahmudullah Riyad (Captain), Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasann, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shoriful Islam Reserve: Rubel Hossain, Aminul Islam Biplob

Captaincy is a tough job but I'm excited to lead the team in World T20: Mohammad Nabi

Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi has expressed excitement on leading the team in the World T20 but has also admitted that it is a 'tough job'. “Yeah, it’s (captaincy) a tough job at the end, I will try my best to lead the team in the World Cup and perform well in the tournament. (I am) really excited to play as a captain in this event,” Nabi said in a conference call with the media. The Afghanistan cricketing board has gone through a turbulent time since the Taliban takeover of the country. In the last month, the recently appointed captain Rashid Khan stepped down from captaincy citing that he did not play a single part in the selection of the members of the team. The board replaced him with veteran Nabi, also known as the 'The President' in cricketing circles. The Afghan side included former Zimbabwe player Andy Flower as their batting consultant for the competition. Hailing Flower, Nabi said that he has knowledge about the pitches in UAE and is brilliant when it comes to coaching. “I played under his coaching in CPL (Caribbean Premier League) and also in T10,” Nabi said. “He is a great coach and also a great mentor for every player as well and, also he is working with the batsmen. “…he practised with five-six players in one or two sessions in Abu Dhabi, but he is brilliant, he knows everything about UAE pitches and all these conditions, yeah,” added Nabi. Afghanistan will begin the campaign against the qualifying team from Group B on October 25 in Sharjah.

WBBL fixtures in Hobart under dark clouds

The Women’s Big Bash League fixtures that were scheduled to take place in Tasmania coming weekend are under dark clouds after the state is set to go under a three-day lockdown citing a Covid-19 situation. While the seven teams are already in the city, Perth Scorchers have delayed their travel by 24 hours. "The Weber Women's Big Bash League acknowledges the decision of the Tasmanian Government to call a three-day lockdown in the interests of public health," WBBL stated. "The health and safety of our players, staff, match officials and partners, along with that of the wider community, remains our top priority. We are currently working with the Tasmanian Government on options for the upcoming Weber WBBL|07 matches at Blundstone Arena, Hobart this weekend,” it added. The competition began on Thursday (October 14, 2021) when Sydney Sixers played Melbourne Stars in a rain-curtailed match in Hobart. The Sydney side eventually etched a win by 6 wickets after chasing down a target of 100 runs in the final over. Alyssa Healy struck a 27-ball 57 to anchor the side to a victory.