Shakib's blistering ton scripts Bangladesh's memorable World Cup win over West Indies

Agencies
June 18, 2019

Taunton, Jun 18: All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan struck a magnificent unbeaten 124 to help Bangladesh record a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over the West Indies and script the second highest successful run chase in World Cup history here on Monday. The 32-year-old Shakib (124 off 99 balls) produced a batting master class as he led Bangladesh to a famous win, chasing down the target of 322 with 8.3 overs to spare. He also took 2 wickets for 54 runs while bowling during the West Indies innings.

Liton Das also played a big part in the win as he remained not out on 94 off just 69 balls in a brilliant batting show. He hit 8 fours and 4 sixes in his knock.  The Shakib-Das stand for the unbroken fourth wicket yielded 189 runs from 22.3 overs to take Bangladesh to 322 for 3 in 41.3 overs and notch up their second win in the tournament after their 21-run victory over South Africa on June 2.

The highest successful run chase in World Cup history was the 329 for 7 by Ireland to beat England in the 2011 World Cup in Bengaluru while Bangladesh have also earlier managed 322 batting second, against Scotland in 2015 World Cup. Shakib's 124 not out, his ninth ODI century, was studded with 16 fours. In the process, he also reached the personal milestone of scoring 6000 ODI runs in his 202nd innings.

This was his second century in this World Cup after the 121 against England for a losing cause in Cardiff on Jun 8.  Bangladesh remained in the reckoning for a semifinal spot with five points from five matches while the West Indies will get tougher for a place in the last four as they now have three points from five matches.

The win was though not a surprise as Bangladesh had beaten the West Indies thrice in a tri-series in Ireland last month. But this was Bangladesh's first win over the West Indies in a World Cup. Bangladesh made a confident start to their run chase as they repelled the West Indies' barrage of bouncers initially before slowly beginning to dictate terms on the Caribbean bowlers. In the end, it turned out to be an easy win with Shakib and Das taking their side home with 51 balls to spare.

Opener Tamim Iqbal made a confident start to the run chase with six fours in his 53-ball innings of 48 before being superbly run out by Sheldon Cottrell.

Coming in the pivotal number 3 in the ninth over at team score of 52 for 1, Shakib stitched 69 runs with opener Iqbal for the second wicket before the 189 with Das.

Shakib, whose three innings in this World Cup read 75, 64 and 121, continued with his imperious form as he punished all the West Indies bowlers during his memorable innings. Earlier, Shai Hope hit a patient 121-ball 91 while Shimron Hetmyer produced a quick-fire fifty as West Indies posted a challenging 321 for eight after being sent into bat.

Hope shared a 116-run partnership with Evin Lewis (70) for the second wicket before adding another 83 runs with Hetmyer (50 off 26 balls) after West Indies had a sedate start following Bangladesh's decision to field first. The two-time champions seemed to be on course for a 350-plus score before Bangladesh tied things up a bit in the last five overs, which yielded just 33 for loss of one wicket.

For Bangladesh, pace duo of Mohammad Saifuddin (3/72) and Mustafizur Rahman (3/59) snapped three wickets each, while Shakib Al Hasan (2/54) took two. Earlier, West Indies lost Chris Gayle (0) early and could manage only 32 runs in the first powerplay with the Bangladesh pacers bowling in tendum.

Lewis and Hope then brought up the team hundred in 22.4 overs. The left-handed opener then exploded, smashing successive fours off Shakib before sending one from the bowler out of the park in his next over. But Shakib returned to dismiss Lewis, having him caught at long-off as West Indies slipped to 122 for two.

Hope then completed his fifty in 75 balls but new man Nicholas Pooran (25) could not stay longer as WI lost their third wicket in the 33rd over. That brought Hetmyer to the crease and he took the Bangladesh bowlers to the cleaners, smashing four boundaries and three sixes in his 26-ball whirlwind innings.

Once Hetmyer was back to the hut, captain Jason Holder blasted 33 off 15 balls with the help of four hits to the fence and two sixes to keep the flow of runs but West Indies lost their way after he was dismissed in the 44th over. Hope too holed out in the 47th over.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: Indian cricketers Suresh Raina and Harmanpreet Kaur were on Wednesday appointed as the global brand ambassadors of the WTF Sports.

Raina is also joining the brand as a Strategic Partner. WTF Sports, a fantasy sports gaming platform, was today formally launched in India and globally.

The announcement was made through a web conference with prominent cricket host, Vikram Sathaye moderating and hosting the webinar and Vinit Bhatia, Manit Parikh and Yash Kadakia Co-Founders - India and Global, WTF Sports introducing the cricketers as the Global Brand Ambassadors.

Kaur said it was a perfect fit for her and she can use her strategy and experience while playing.
"WTF Sports was the perfect fit with me, I can use strategy and my experience while playing, I've actually learnt to strategize better as I've played along. Additionally, when we were under lockdown and I couldn't really practice, it was fun to come on the platform and feel like I'm still playing," Kaur said in a statement.

On the other hand, Raina said, "It is exciting to be a part of a fantasy sports platform like WTF Sports not just as an ambassador but also as the strategic partner, it is everything that I embody and what I believe in, it's fierce, fun and competitive."

The app currently hosts three major sports, multiple playing modes, and exciting contests, ensuring that sports fans can get more skillful by letting them strategize and use their sports knowledge into rewarding behaviour.

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News Network
June 6,2020

New Delhi, Jun 6: Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding has come out in support of MS Dhoni, saying that the wicket-keeper batsman indeed wanted to win the match against England in the 2019 World Cup.

India's performance in the World Cup match against England last year has once again become a matter of debate as all-rounder Ben Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' questioned the intent of the Indian side.

Stokes also said that Dhoni's intent was questionable as he did not go for big shots when India still had a chance to win the match.

However, Holding said that nowadays people tend to write anything in their books.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding said on his official YouTube channel.

"But, to be honest, a lot of people watching that game perhaps wouldn't have arrived to the same conclusion that Ben Stokes arrived at that India were not trying to win," he added.

Holding did say that it seemed like that India did not have the same intensity as they would have had if the match was a do-or-die match.

"It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 per cent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," the former Windies pacer said.

"But I don't think they went with the same intensity of wanting to win the game, say, if it was a do-or-die situation. If it was, we would have seen a different game," he added.

On his official YouTube channel, Holding also said that no team goes in with a set pattern in terms of chasing targets.

In the round-robin stage match against England in Birmingham, India failed to chase down the massive target of 338 and fell short by 31 runs.

That was the only game that India lost in the premier tournament last year before the semifinal loss against the Kiwis.

India's chasing approach, in particular of wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni, was criticised by many, including the fans at home.

As soon as Stokes mentioned Dhoni's lack of intent in his book 'On Fire', Pakistan fans started saying that India deliberately lost the match to knock out their neighbours.

However, Stokes clarified that he never said India lost deliberately and some people were twisting his words.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

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