Sri Lanka down West Indies in inconsequential cliffhanger

Agencies
July 2, 2019

London, Jul 2: Ton-up Nicholas Pooran played the innings of his life but Angelo Mathews delivered the ball of the match to get his wicket and help Sri Lanka to a 23-run victory over the West Indies in an inconsequential but thrilling World Cup tie here on Monday.

With both teams not standing a chance to qualify for the semifinals, there was only pride to play for. But it turned out to be a rip-roaring affair in the end in which Pooran slammed 118 off 103 balls (4x11, 6x4), his maiden hundred, to get West Indies very close to gunning down 339 for victory, which would have been the highest successful run-chase in World Cup history.

But Mathews, bowling for the first time this year in the 48th over, had Pooran caught by wicketkeeper Kusal Perera in the very first ball and celebrated his first wicket since December 2016 in grand fashion.

With 31 runs needed off 17 balls and two wickets in hand, it was a bridge too far in the end for the Windies as they finished at 315/9 in 50 overs. For Sri Lanka, veteran pacer Lasith Malinga (3/55) was the pick of the bowlers.

Chasing a commanding 339 for victory, West Indies were reduced to 84/4 in 18 overs with Chris Gayle (35), Sunil Ambris (5), Shai Hope (5) and Shimron Hetmyer (29) all back in the hut.

Gayle looked good during his stay at the crease but holed out to Jeffrey Vandersay off Kasun Rajitha. Malinga had removed Ambris and the talented Hope earlier on.

Hetymer also failed to continue after steadying himself as he was run out. Pooran then stitched together a 61-run stand with skipper Jason Holder (26) for the fifth wicket before the latter was caught at mid on by substitute Jeevan Mendis off Vandersay.

Pooran and Carlos Brathwaite (8) also shared a 54-run partnership but Brathwaite was also run out to bring Fabein Allen to the crease. It was then that the pair took the game to the opposition with counter-attacking batting as Allen brought up his maiden 50 off just 30 balls.

But just when the duo looked good to guide their team across the line, a mixup saw Allen getting run out (51; 32b, 4x7, 6x1) with 57 needed off 36 balls. Pooran got to his 100 in 92 balls and looked all set to pull off a memorable victory for his side before Mathews trumped him and swung the tide in Sri Lanka's favour.

Earlier, Avishka Fernando's maiden ODI century helped Sri Lanka post 338/6. Fernando scored 104 off 103 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes.

Put into bat by West Indies skipper Jason Holder at the Riverside Ground, Sri Lanka made a strong start to the innings. After captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera added 93 runs for the first wicket, it was Holder who gave the Windies the breakthrough by forcing an edge off Karunaratne (32) which was gleefully accepted by Shai Hope behind the stumps in the 16th over.

Two overs later, Perera (64; 51 balls, 4x8) was run out, but Fernando and Kusal Mendis went about undoing the damage, adding 85 runs for the third wicket. Fernando anchored the middle order even after the dismissal of Mendis (39), setting up strong partnerships with Angelo Matthews and later Lahiru Thirimanne.

Matthews (26) was done by an inch perfect yorker from Holder and it looked like Oshane Thomas had got Thirimanne just two overs later by getting him to hit the ball straight to the fielder at midwicket. But it turned out that he had overstepped by a fair distance. Thirimanne went on to finish the innings with unbeaten on 45 off 33 balls, hitting four boundaries in the process.

Fernando was dismissed in the 38th over by Sheldon Cottrell, whose trademark salute celebration seemed to be more of an acknowledgement of the batsman's efforts than in jubilation.

Holder (2/59) was the pick of the West Indies bowlers while Cottrell, Thomas and Fabian Allen picked up one wicket each.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka: 338/6 in 50 overs (Avishka Fernando 104, Kusal Perera 64; Holder 2/59) vs West Indies 315/9 in 50 overs (Nicholas Pooran 118, Fabien Allen 51; Lasith Malinga 3/55).

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Agencies
July 21,2020

New Delhi, Jul 21: With the T20 World Cup's postponement clearing the decks for a full-fledged IPL, the glitzy event's Governing Council will meet in a week or 10 days' time to plan its next course of action, eyeing UAE as the host this year.

An IPL between September and early November has been made possible by the ICC's decision on Monday to postpone the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled for October-November, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The IPL GC will meet within a week or 10 days and all decisions (including final schedule) will be taken there. As of now, the plan is to have a full fledged IPL comprising 60 games and most likely in the UAE," Patel told PTI.

Asked about the main challenges in conducting the event in current scenario, Patel added: "Just the operational side of it. Whether you do it here or outside, it doesn't matter (with no crowds)."

The franchisees had already been working on their plans for the IPL even before the ICC announcement.

With majority of the Indian players not having access to grounds amid the pandemic, teams will need at least three to four weeks to get them match ready.

Foreign players will fly in directly to the UAE from their respective countries.

"Our players will need at least three to four weeks of training, if not more. We will finalise all our plans once the BCCI announces the dates. It looks like the IPL will be in the UAE and we are ready for that," a team owner told PTI.

Since India tour Australia for a four-Test series right after the IPL, training of the Test players is also an important issue.

Test specialists like Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari, who are not part of the IPL, are likely to train for the eagerly-awaited series in a bio-secure environment at the newly-renovated Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad during the time of the IPL.

A few fringe players are expected to join them at Motera along with the Indian team's support staff, which is free during the IPL.

Work from home has become the norm amid the pandemic, therefore, there is a possibility that IPL commentary will happen from the comfort of the living room, a safer and cost effective-option considering the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, who is 71, are involved.

The viewership is expected to be a record one with people craving for live cricket, something KXIP co-owner Ness Wadia has said.

However, it remains to be seen how much the broadcasters and teams are able to attract from the sponsors in the current financial climate.

More moot points and questions ahead of the IPL GC meeting:

1) More double headers expected (original schedule had only five double headers).

2) BCCI will need to provide a Standard Operating Procedure to IPL teams even though they will have their own SOPs in place.

3) Will the BCCI compensate teams for not being able to generate gate money this year?

4) Will there be virtual commentary from Star Sports? It was seen in the recent 3TC event in South Africa with the likes of Aakash Chopra, Deep Dasgupta and Irfan Pathan commentating from home.

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News Network
July 12,2020

New Delhi, Jul 12: Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to do away with 'umpire's call' whenever a team opts for a review regarding a leg-before wicket (LBW) decision.

The Master Blaster has also said that a batsman should be given out if the ball is hitting the stumps.

Whether more than 50 per cent of the ball is hitting the stumps or not should not be matter, he further stated.

"What per cent of the ball hits the stumps doesn't matter, if DRS shows us that the ball is hitting the stumps, it should be given out, regardless of the on-field call," Tendulkar tweeted.

With this tweet, the former India batsman also shared a video, in which he has a discussion with Brian Lara regarding the working of DRS.
"One thing I don't agree with, with the ICC, is the DRS they have been using for quite some time. It is the LBW decision where more than 50 per cent of the ball must be hitting the stumps for the on-field decision to be overturned," Tendulkar said in the video.

"The only reason they (the batsman or the bowler) have gone upstairs is that they are unhappy with the on-field decision, so when the decision goes to the third umpire, let the technology take over, just like in tennis, it's either in or out, there's nothing in between," he added.

This call for doing away with umpire's call has been recommended by many former players.
Whenever a verdict pops up as 'umpire's call, the decision of the on-field umpire is not changed, but the teams do not lose their review as well.

ICC recently introduced some changes to the game of cricket, and they gave all teams liberty of extra review as non-neutral umpires will be employed in Test matches due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, all teams will now have three reviews in every innings of a Test match. 

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News Network
July 21,2020

Jul 21: The tickets sold for the now-postponed ICC T20 World Cup will remain valid if Australia hosts the edition in 2021 instead of India.

In case the event is shifted to 2022, all ticket-holders will be entitled to a full refund, the ICC stated on its website on Monday night after postponing the mega-event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament was to be held in October-November but will now be conducted later because of the pandemic.

The ICC has not yet announced which country will host which edition as there are operational issues that both the Indian and Australian cricket Boards need to sort out.

The world body had opened ticket booking through its ticketing partners and a significant number was already sold.

"Ticket holders are welcome to retain their tickets, noting, if Australia hosts in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates.

"If Australia hosts in 2022, for tickets already bought a full refund will be processed automatically," ICC stated in a series of FAQs.

Fans can retain their tickets until a date is confirmed for the event.

Refund requests can be made until December 15 and they will be processed within 30 days after an online submission.

The hospitality package will also remain valid for the 2021 fixtures.

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