Mohammad Amir concedes seven wides in super over defeat to USA

Mohammad Amir conceded 18 runs in the super over against USA, seven of which were wides as Pakistan succumbed to a shock defeat in Dallas, Texas today (June 6).

USA stun Pakistan to take it to the super over

Chasing 160 for victory after restricting Pakistan to 159, USA were in cruise control for a major part of their innings. At the end of 13 overs, their score read 104-1, as they needed only 56 runs in seven overs. Captain Monank Patel then got out in the next over after reaching fifty, as Pakistan started tightening the screws. USA needed 15 off the final over, which was bowled by Haris Rauf.

After the first three balls fetched only three runs, the game looked almost beyond USA’s reach when Aaron Jones hit a six and Nitish Kumar followed it up with a last ball four to level the scores and take the game to the super over.

Mohammad Amir conceded seven wides in the super over

Amir, the pick of the Pakistan bowlers in the game, having registered figures of 1-25 from four overs, was given the responsibility to bowl the super over.

Related Story: Watch: Mohammad Amir takes pace off, picks up wicket in first over of international return

He conceded a four off the first ball as Jones cut a short ball behind point. While that was the only boundary Amir conceded in the over, USA still managed to amass 18 runs.

Amir conceded a double and a single off the next two balls as USA’s score read 7-0 with three balls to go. The next was a wide down the leg side of the left-handed Harmeet Singh. Mohammad Rizwan dived full stretch to his right to prevent the ball from going for a boundary, but he couldn’t stop the USA batters from running a bye.

Related Story: Watch: Pant blasts four final-over sixes, Mohit concedes most expensive IPL spell

After a single off the next ball, Amir repeated the same act, bowling one way down the leg side allowing the USA batters to rotate strike. Jones then got two off the next ball as USA’s score read 14-0 with one ball left.

However, the next ball was another wide, this time outside off. While the call could be debated, Jones and Harmeet were smart enough to take the opportunity to run through. Rizwan lobbed the ball back to Amir, but lobbed it too high for the bowler to field it in his follow through. By the time the fielders straight down the ground backed up, the USA batters had run a second run, making it three off the delivery.

A single off the last ball meant USA finished on 18, out of which seven were registered as wides.

No context Super Over #USAvPAK pic.twitter.com/e5Zzvfhm2y

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) June 6, 2024

USA close of historic vitory in the super over

Saurabh Netravalkar was given the task of defending 19 in the super over. The Pakistan batters took a while to come out for the super over, which made the USA fielders complain to the umpires.

It didn’t matter in the end, as Netravalkar held his nerve to concede only 13 and win the game for his team by five runs.

Last month, USA had defeated Bangladesh in a T20I series, their first victory against a Full Member nation. With this result, they showed that it was no fluke.

With two victories from two games at the T20 World Cup, USA now have a realistic chance of making the Super Eights.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.

The post Mohammad Amir concedes seven wides in super over defeat to USA appeared first on Wisden.

from Cricket News: Stories, Features, Interviews, Opinion, Reports | Wisden https://ift.tt/g0IXkrZ

Babar Azam overtakes Virat Kohli as all-time leading T20I run-scorer

Babar Azam overtook Virat Kohli as the highest run-scorer in men’s T20Is during Pakistan’s opening T20 World Cup fixture against USA in Dallas, Texas today (June 6).

A shaky start for Pakistan and Babar

Pakistan were put into bat after USA won the toss. On a slowish surface, the Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan combination, back at the top of the order for Pakistan, didn’t have the best of starts. Rizwan returned for nine off eight balls owing to a spectacular one-handed grab in just the second over of the day to land his team in early trouble. Pakistan kept on losing wickets regularly and were reduced to 26-3 in 4.4 overs.

Babar, Shadab steady the ship

Babar struggled to keep going as wickets kept tumbling at the other end. He was 10 off 25 before hitting his first four of the innings in the last ball of the 10th over. With a 25-ball 40, including three sixes and a four, Shadab Khan upped the ante for Pakistan as the duo stitched a 50-ball 72-run stand for the fourth wicket. Pakistan were 98-4 when Shadab returned to the pavilion. Babar, gaining momentum slowly, threatened to go big but fell for a 43-ball 44, a knock comprising two sixes and three fours.

Babar goes past Kohli in T20Is

During his nearly run-a-ball stay, the Pakistan white-ball captain overtook Virat Kohli to become the leading run-scorer (4,067) in T20I cricket. Babar crossed Kohli in his 113th innings – three more than what Kohli is currently on. His runs have come at a strike-rate of 129.77 and an average of 41.08, in contrast to Kohli’s strike rate and average of 137.95 and 51.11 respectively.

Kohli, who now sits at second with 4,038 runs, is closely trailed by India’s captain Rohit Sharma, who has 4,026 runs to his tally.

Leading the list @babarazam258 is the all-time top run-getter in T20Is #T20WorldCup | #USAvPAK | #WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/DoFs54cWZa

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) June 6, 2024

Earlier in Pakistan’s T20I series against England leading up to the tournament, Babar became the only captain to score 2,500 runs in T20Is.

He is also the most successful skipper in the format with 46 wins from 81 matches.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.

The post Babar Azam overtakes Virat Kohli as all-time leading T20I run-scorer appeared first on Wisden.

from Cricket News: Stories, Features, Interviews, Opinion, Reports | Wisden https://ift.tt/A15JcE9

ICC facing empty stands for India-Pakistan as hundreds of $2,500 tickets go unsold

The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup got underway on June 1, and the big game between India and Pakistan is scheduled for June 9 but several tickets are unsold three days ahead of the marquee IND vs PAK clash.

The start of week two will see one of the tournament’s most anticipated clashes get underway at the Nassau County Stadium in New York, as India and Pakistan face off in an important Group A encounter on Sunday, June 9. Given that the teams do not meet in bilateral cricket, their matches in ICC events and Asia Cups are always ones to look forward to.

However, if the ICC’s ticketing website is any indicator, it appears that the atmosphere at the venue might not be as electric as many had predicted.

Suboptimal scheduling of matches for local fans

Both matches played so far at the Nassau County Stadium have been marked by empty stands, clearly visible on match broadcasts. South Africa vs Sri Lanka took place on a Monday morning, while India vs Ireland was on Wednesday morning.

With these matches scheduled by the ICC keeping the Indian television audience in mind, the chances of locals attending the games amid their daily schedule are quite low.

Are IND vs PAK tickets still unsold?

The empty stands seen in the New York games so far have been those with a straight view of the pitch, the Premium Club Lounge and Diamond Club ticket categories. The premium tickets were priced at $1,000 for India vs Ireland, but the same seats for India-Pakistan will require fans to fork out $2500 (roughly INR 2.1 lakh). The Diamond Club seats are more expensive still, at $10,000.

ICC and USA cricket have sold these tickets at 900 USD onwards for straight stand views. Some of these stands were selling for 2000 USD for the India vs Pakistan game later this week

For a new sport for Americans to lap up, there is way too much friction. One has to take… pic.twitter.com/Bny1eC88TO

— Kartik Kannan (@kartik_kannan) June 5, 2024

As of three days before the match, hundreds of these seats are still available to be booked, per the ICC website. Standard tickets for this game also start at $300, double the amount they were priced at for the India-Ireland match. These tickets have been sold out, as well as all the categories up to the Premium Club Lounge seats.

A significant number of tickets for the IND vs PAK game in New York are still available.

Improper facilities adding to concerns for fans

Cost is not the only factor affecting the attendance levels in New York. News spreading through word-of-mouth about the poor stadium experience and ticketing process may also have contributed to fans opting to stay away, from the more expensive seats in particular.

Met Jagan Vinyagam, 48, originally from Chennai but living in NJ for last 20 years. Paid $350 for a "premium" ticket, only to be randomly assigned to last row, top of the stadium, section 247. He feels like he got scammed. "there was no transparency in the ticket buying process." pic.twitter.com/UGC1zYRmgn

— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) June 5, 2024

Just ran into an old Columbia Cricket Club teammate, Ganesh. He paid $225 tix, plus $200 for parking, but his 3 hour drive from Hartford, CT meant heavy traffic. Didn't arrive until Ireland bowled out. "I paid $425 for a bad seat to watch 10 overs." Would he come back? "Hell no!" pic.twitter.com/Vy4xP9vJNz

— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) June 5, 2024

India vs Pakistan being a marquee clash, the pattern over the years has generally been that tickets are sold out very soon after being made available. As a result, the ICC and tournament sponsors perhaps remained confident that this would be the case this time around as well.

However, with this many seats still unsold so close to the match, it appears that they may just have found the limit to which even the most ardent of supporters are willing or able to loosen their purse strings.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.

The post ICC facing empty stands for India-Pakistan as hundreds of $2,500 tickets go unsold appeared first on Wisden.

from Cricket News: Stories, Features, Interviews, Opinion, Reports | Wisden https://ift.tt/as2lTHz

ICC admit to issues with New York pitches ahead of India-Pakistan clash

ICC have admitted that the pitches at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York haven’t been up to standards ahead of the marquee India-Pakistan clash.

New York pitches under scanner after low-scoring games

The newly-built modular stadium in New York with drop-in pitches has received a lot of criticism over the past week. A total of three matches have been played at the venue, one of which was a warm-up game. All three games have had pitches with uneven bounce and at least one, if not two low-scoring innings.

Batters have also been hit on the body on several occasions, with India captain Rohit Sharma having to retire hurt after a blow on the shoulder during the India vs Ireland game on June 5.

Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the preparation of the drop-in pitches, Andy Flower called it “bordering on dangerous”, Michael Vaughan labelled it “shocking”, while Mickey Arthur felt it was “very poor”.

ICC admit to issues

Following the widespread pubic critcism, as well as reported private complaints by teams, the ICC have finally admitted to the New York pitches being substandard.

In a statement released three days ahead of the IND vs PAK clash, scheduled for June 9 at the same venue, ICC said: “T20 Inc and the ICC recognise that the pitches used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played as consistently as we would have all wanted.”

Related Story: New York pitch for India-Ireland game labelled ‘shocking’ due to uneven bounce

They have also mentioned in their statement that all efforts are being made to improve the quality of the pitches for the remaining games at the venue: “The world-class grounds team have been working hard since the conclusion of yesterday’s game to remedy the situation and deliver the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches.”

Along with the pitches, the outfield at the venue hasn’t been up to the mark either, with puffs of sand bursting out every time the ball lands anywhere on the field. ICC will have to do something about that as well if they are to prepare conditions good enough for an even contest between bat and ball.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.

The post ICC admit to issues with New York pitches ahead of India-Pakistan clash appeared first on Wisden.

from Cricket News: Stories, Features, Interviews, Opinion, Reports | Wisden https://ift.tt/glbdFwN

Today’s T20 World Cup match live score, PNG vs UGA & AUS vs OMA: Updated scorecards, playing XIs, toss news and predictions

Today (June 5) at the T20 World Cup 2024, Papua New Guinea will play Uganda in Guyana, and Australia will play Oman in Barbados – here are the predicted XIs, team news, and today’s T20 World Cup live score for PNG vs UGA and AUS vs OMA.

PNG vs UGA, live score: Follow the live scorecard here

AUS vs OMA, live score: Follow the live scorecard here

PNG vs UGA, AUS vs OMA: Toss updates

PNG vs UGA: The toss will take place at 7:30 pm local time

AUS vs OMA: The toss will take place at 8:30 pm local time

PNG vs UGA, AUS vs OMA: T20 World Cup 2024 team news

PNG news

PNG gave hosts West Indies a scare in their opening game. Batting first, they made 136-8 and pushed West Indies till the 19th over while defending the score. The experienced Sese Bau scored a half-century and would look to carry the PNG batting once again while skipper Assad Vala will have an important role to play with both bat and ball.

Uganda news

Uganda suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in their opening fixture. They would need to regroup and bounce back quickly. Brian Masaba, their captain, was the pick of the bowlers in their last game and would need to similarly inspire his team if they are to stay alive in the tournament.

Australia news

Australia played both their warm-up games with only nine players as the others took their time to join the squad. In what will be their first game of the tournament, they’ll have several decisions to make with respect to the make-up of their team, including but not limited to deciding between picking two specialist spinners and one, and deciding on who the first-choice wicketkeeper is going to be between Matthew Wade and Josh Inglis.

Oman news

Oman lost their first game of the ICC T20 World Cup in the super over against Namibia. Their middl order of Zeeshan Maqsood, Khalid Kalil, and Ayaan Khan did the bulk of the scoring and would have a lot of responsibility once again. Captain Aqib Ilyas will be the key player, batting at No.3 and bowling his tidy leg spin.

PNG vs UGA, AUS vs OMA: Predicted Playing XIs

PNG: Tony Ura, Assasd Vala (c), Lega Siaka, Sese Bau, Hiri Hiri, Charles Amini, Kiplin Doriga (wk), Chad Soper, Alei Nao, Kabua Morea, John Kariko.

UGA: Ronak Patel, Simon Ssesazi (wk), Roger Mukasa, Riazat Ali Shah, Dinesh Nakrani, Alpesh Ramjani, Robinson Obuya, Brian Masaba (c), Bilal Hassan, Cosmas Kyewuta, Henry Ssenyondo.

AUS: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa.

OMA: Kashyap Prajapati, Naseem Khushi (wk), Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Khalid Kail, Ayaan Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Mehran Khan, Shakeel Ahmed, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan.

ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Last day’s results

Scotland vs England – No result

Netherlands vs Nepal – Netherlands won by six wickets

ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Upcoming matches

USA vs Pakistan – 10:30 am local time

Namibia vs Scotland – 3:00 pm local time

PNG vs UGA, AUS vs OMA: Prediction for today’s T20 World Cup match

PNG will start as favourites against Uganda, having given two-time world champions West Indies a scare earlier in the tournament. In the other game, Australia are expected to dominate Oman, who would want to put up a fight and not get rolled over.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.

The post Today’s T20 World Cup match live score, PNG vs UGA & AUS vs OMA: Updated scorecards, playing XIs, toss news and predictions appeared first on Wisden.

from Cricket News: Stories, Features, Interviews, Opinion, Reports | Wisden https://ift.tt/ivy7h2z

Maharashtra Premier League 2024, where to watch live: TV channels and live streaming for MPL 2024

The second edition of the Maharashtra Premier League started on June 2 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium at Gahunje on the outskirts of Pune. Here is where you can watch the tournament live across TV and digital, including TV channels and live streaming details for MPL 2024.

Ratnagiri Jets became the champions of the inaugural edition for being the table-toppers in 2023 after the final against Kolhapur Tuskers was washed out due to rain.

Kolhapur’s Kedar Jadhav, who was initially part of their squad retired from all forms of cricket after his side’s loss in this year’s curtain-raiser. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rajvardhan Hangargekar are some of the more renowned players who are participating in the league.

MPL 2024 squads: Full team lists

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Kings: Rajwardhan Hangargekar (c), Digvijay Jadhav, Yogesh Choudhari, Om Bhosale, Harshal Kate, Murtaza Trunkwala, Omkar Khatpe, Digvijay Patil, Anurag Kawade, Saurabh Navale, Rameshwar Daud, Yogesh Chavan, Yatin Mangwani, Pranay Singh, Hitesh Valunj, Shubham Kothari, Anand Thenge, Deepak Dangi, Swaraj Chawan, Nagesh Rege, Shamshuzama Kazi

Eagle Nashik Titans: Mandar Bhandari, Mukesh Choudhary, Arshin Kulkarni, Kaushal Tambe, Akshay Waikar, Ashay Palkar, Rohit Hadke, Prashant Solanki, Dhanraj Shinde, Sahil Parakh, Razeq Fallah, Digvijay Deshmukh, Atharva Dharmadhikari, Rehan Khan, Niraj Joshi, Hari Sawant, Samadhan Pangare, Sharwin Kisave, Siddhant Doshi, Ranjit Nikam

Kolhapur Tuskers: Ankit Bawane, Sachin Dhas, Harsh Sanghvi, Kirtiraj Wadekar, Aniket Porwal, Hrishikesh Daund, Yogesh Dongare, Taranjit Singh, Atman Pore, Akshay Darekar, Shreyash Chavan, Yash Khaladkar, Nihal Tusamad, Manoj Yadhav, Umar Shah, Harshal Mishra , Sumit Markali, Siddharth Mhatre, Shrikant Mundhe

Puneri Bappa: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Abhimanyu Jadhav, Pawan Shah, Yash Kshirsagar, Shripad Nimbalkar, Suraj Shinde, Sahil Autade, Saurabh Sanklecha, Roshan Waghsare, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Rohan Kharat, Vivek Selar, Sachin Bhosale, Atif Sayyed, Piyush Salvi, Sohan Jamale, Rahul Desai, Rohan Damle, Aayush Raktade, Neel Gandhi, Shubham Taiswal, Devansh Tandel

Ratnagiri Jets: Azim Kazi (c), Abhishek Pawar, Tushar Shrivastav, Akhilesh Gawale, Nikil Naik, Kunal Thorat, Nikit Dhumal, Pradeep Dadhe, Piyush Kamal, Yogesh Chavan, Sangram Bhalekar, Yash Borkar, Satyajeet Bacchav, Sahil Churi, Dhiraj Phatangare, Divyang Hinganekar, Kiran Chormale, Krish Shahapurkar, Preetam Patil, Rohit Patil, Vaibhav Chowghule, Vijay Pawale

Raigad Royals: Vishant More, Rushabh Rathod, Mehul Patel, Devdutt Natu, Abhinav Bhatt, Vaibhav Agam, Vedant Patil, Rohan Marwah, Yash Nahar, Ajay Borude, Vicky Ostwal, Snehal Kamankar, Ravi Jangid, Savya Gajraj, Nikhil Kadam, Nadeem Shaikh, Jikendra Viswas Jadhav, Aman Doshi, Prathamesh Gawade, Ayush Kabra, Manoj Ingale, Pratik Mhatre, Vyankatesh Kane, Omkar Rajput, Sunil Yadav, Harshavardhan Tingre, Naushad Shaikh, Siddhesh Veer, Tanay Sanghvi, Sujit Ubale, Bhushan Gole

MPL 2024: Participating teams and format

Six teams will feature in the inaugural edition of MPL 2024: Chhatrapati Sambhaji Kings, Eagle Nashik Titans, Kolhapur Tuskers, Puneri Bappa, Ratnagiri Jets, and Raigad Royals.

In the mould of the IPL, the six teams will play each other in a double round-robin league stage, followed by four play-off matches just like the IPL: Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2, and the Final.

The afternoon games will begin at 2 PM while the evening games will begin at 7 PM local time. All matches will be played at the MCA International Stadium in Pune. The Final will be played on June 22, from 8 PM.

Maharashtra Premier League 2024 where to watch live: TV Channels and live streaming

The Maharashtra Premier League season 2 will be telecast live on the Sporst18 network. Live-streaming service for the tournament is available on the Jio Cinema app and its website (jiocinema.com).

Live streaming for MPL 2024 will also be available on the FanCode app and website.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.

The post Maharashtra Premier League 2024, where to watch live: TV channels and live streaming for MPL 2024 appeared first on Wisden.

from Cricket News: Stories, Features, Interviews, Opinion, Reports | Wisden https://ift.tt/D8NcVYH