Visakhapatnam, Dec 5 (IANS) In the aftermath of a hard-fought ICC ODI World Cup 2023, where India’s dreams were shattered by the Australians in a nail-biting final, the cricketing world now shifts its focus to the T20 World Cup 2024.

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that amidst the rubble of defeat, Rohit Sharma’s leadership shines brighter than ever, asserting, “You need skipper Rohit more than a batter Rohit Sharma to lead the team in T20 World Cup 2024.”

The Indian team’s journey to the ODI World Cup final was marked by ten successive victories, culminating in a showdown with the Australians in Ahmedabad. However, a below-par score of 240 and a relentless Aussie chase handed them their first loss of the tournament, conceding the 50-over world title. Now, as the T20 World Cup looms, the question arises: Will Rohit Sharma continue to lead the Indian side, or will a new captain step up?

Kaif, who acknowledges the brilliance of Rohit both as a player and a leader, argues that the Mumbaikar’s captaincy is indispensable, particularly in the absence of Hardik Pandya.

“Rohit Sharma has to be there because he has got the leadership quality,” Kaif told IANS, emphasizing the significance of Rohit’s role in guiding a team that demonstrated resilience and skill throughout the ODI World Cup.

“The way he led in the 50 years World Cup, he has done a fantastic job as a leader. Without your prime all-rounder (Hardik Pandya) carrying the team in the finals, how will you justify it. India will need his experience in T20 too. Rohit as a skipper as a batter did a fantastic job which India will need in T20 too.” he added.

As the T20 World Cup approaches, Rohit Sharma’s leadership qualities are deemed crucial for India’s success. With Virat Kohli and Rohit taking a break from white-ball cricket, the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in the Test squad for the South Africa tour raises eyebrows. Kaif also expressed concern, particularly about Pujara’s omission, stating, “It will be hard for you Shreyas Iyer to fill the shoes of Pujara.”

“I don’t know why Pujara has not been selected. You can’t just get on the African tour without your prime batter, you just cannot rely on current or past forms, something you need the most is called experience and India is going to miss it,” said Kaif.

The former cricketer also dismissed the notion that the Australian team, despite their World Cup victory, was superior to the Indian eleven. Kaif contends, “I can never accept that the best team has won the World Cup. The Indian team is best on paper,” pointing out the standout performances of key players like Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, and the team’s overall composition.

“Their bowlers struggled throughout the tournament, Warner, Smith, Marsh struggled with the bat, Starc, Hazlewood were in no rhythm then how can you say that the one who wins is the best team. Seeing the Indian team, Rohit led from the front. Virat anchored the innings throughout the tournament, strong middle orders. Our pacers were brilliant, Mohammed Shami who didn’t play the initial games went on to become the highest wicket-taker of the tournament,” said Kaif.

Kaif further shed light on the Legend League Cricket (LLC), where the retired players showcase their skills. Playing for the Manipal Tigers, Kaif underscores the importance of the tournament in maintaining fitness and honing skills, stating, “It has helped a lot to grow more as a player.”

–IANS

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Chengdu, Dec 5 (IANS) Hosts China and several other favorites got off to a winning start as the inaugural International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup commenced in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

According to the competition format of the innovative mixed team tournament, matches will begin with mixed doubles, followed by women’s singles and men’s singles, and then men’s and women’s doubles if required. Individual matches last for three games, resulting in either a 3-0 or 2-1 scoreline. Team matches continue until one side secures eight total games for the victory, reports Xinhua.

In Group 1, Lin Gaoyuan/Wang Manyu gifted China three points with an 11-9, 11-2, 11-4 victory over Kristian Karlsson/Christina Kallberg in mixed doubles.

“I felt a bit tense,” admitted Lin. “I made full preparation for any difficulty during the team’s first match, and tried my best to adjust myself.”

Women’s world No. 1 Sun Yingsha added another three points by sailing past Linda Bergstrom 11-9, 11-5, 12-10.

“As it was my first match here, I hoped to get into the rhythm at the start. I haven’t played against her over the past two years, so I just focused on every point,” Sun remarked.

Wang Chuqin closed out China’s lopsided win in men’s singles by defeating Anton Kallberg 11-6, 11-7 after two games of their duel.

“The competition format is new to everyone, so doing your best and playing every point well is the most important thing,” commented Wang.

The other match of the group saw Puerto Rico edge Hong Kong, China 8-7 in a thriller.

Led by Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata, Japan kicked off its campaign in Group 3 with an 8-2 win against Romania before triumphing 8-1 over Australia.

France also registered two victories in a row in the group, first 8-3 over Australia, and then 8-5 over the United States.

In Group 2, Slovakia beat Portugal 8-5, while Germany defeated Egypt 8-3.

Both South Korea and Chinese Taipei notched two straight victories in Group 4.

Competing in Chengdu through Sunday, 18 teams have been divided into four groups, with the winner and runner-up of each group advancing to the second stage.

In the second stage, the top eight teams will be grouped into a single group. Results from the first stage will be carried over, meaning that teams that faced each other earlier in the week won’t compete with each other again.

–IANS

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Madrid, Dec 5 (IANS) Both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona look set to lose key defenders for at least a month, with right back Dani Carvajal sidelined for Real Madrid and central defender Inigo Martinez out for Barca.

Carvajal was forced out of Real Madrid’s 2-0 win at home to Granada on Saturday at halftime and tests carried out on Monday have confirmed the defender has suffered an injury to his left calf, reports Xinhua.

That means he will be out of action for around a month, missing La Liga matches against Betis, Villarreal, Alaves and Mallorca, a meaningless Champions League tie away to Union Berlin and the third-round tie of the Copa del Rey at the start of the year.

However, if his recovery goes to plan, the Spain international will be available to play in the Spanish Supercup in Saudi Arabia in the first half on January.

Carvajal joins Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni on Madrid’s injury list, although Carlo Ancelotti can use either Lucas Vazquez or Nacho Fernandez as cover.

Barcelona defender, Martinez was due to start their 1-0 win at home to Atletico Madrid on Sunday night, but had to pull out of the side after suffering a problem in his right hamstring.

Test have confirmed the injury, and he is unlikely to play again before the end of the year, in what is a setback for the 32-year-old former Athletic Club Bilbao stopper, who had won a place in Xavi Hernandez’s starting 11 and returned to the Spain national team thanks to his impressive displays over the last month.

–IANS

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Beijing, Dec 5 (IANS) The Beijing Ducks defeated the Beijing Royal Fighters 109-106 in overtime, while the Guangdong Southern Tigers overcame the Fujian Sturgeons 122-115 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League.

The Beijing Ducks and the Beijing Royal Fighters had a close score throughout the game and fierce plays from both sides. The Beijing Royal Fighters took the lead into the halftime, enlarging the gap from 19-17 in the first quarter to 47-39 after two quarters, reports Xinhua.

In the third quarter, the Beijing Ducks performed more smoothly, and overtook the Beijing Royal Fighters 72-70. The last quarter saw a back-and-forth battle and two teams were tied 96-96.

In overtime, with Marcus Keene’s successful three-pointer shot, the Beijing Ducks kept the narrow lead to the end with a 109-106 victory over the Beijing Royal Fighters.

Marcus Keene said: “It’s my second game here in the CBA and I just wanted to show the team what I’m capable of doing. I just got here on Wednesday, but the coach trust me, and my teammates know what I could do and trust me. And it was a fun game today, and I’m glad we got to win.”

On the same day, the Shanxi Loongs triumphed over the Sichuan Blue Whales 115-107. The Tianjin Pioneers beat the Qingdao Eagles 100-83, and the Nanjing Monkey Kings squeezed past the Zhejiang Lions 96-93.

–IANS

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Windhoek (Namibia), Dec 4 (IANS) Cricket Namibia on Monday announced a 13-player squad for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in Uganda starting December 9 to 17 at Entebbe Cricket Oval.

The 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier is a cricket tournament that forms part of the qualification process for the 2024 T20 World Cup, reports Xinhua.

The event qualifiers will feature eight teams that have been divided into two groups. Group A has Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Botswana, and Kenya, while Group B has Nigeria, Rwanda, Namibia and hosts Uganda.

The top two teams from the qualifier will represent Africa at the Global Qualifiers that will be held in 2024.

Meanwhile, on November 30, Namibia and Uganda’s men’s cricket teams booked spots in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after impressive victories in the Africa qualifiers.

–IANS

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Abu Dhabi, Dec 4 (IANS) Akeal Hosein and Chamika Karunaratne bowled out Delhi Bulls for a paltry 31 runs in 9.3 overs to give New York Strikers a thunderous 67 runs victory in the 18th match of the Abu Dhabi T10 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. Delhi Bulls’ total was the lowest ever in Abu Dhabi T10 history displacing Northern Warriors 46 all out against Qalandars in 2019.

Though Delhi Bulls restricted New York Strikers to 98 for 4 in 10 overs despite Rahmanulla Gurbaz’s unbeaten 49 and Odean Smith’s unconquered 25, they put on an embarrassing batting display.

Four of their batters got out for ducks, and except for Ravi Bopara (16), none of the other batters reached double figures. Hosein returned with figures of 3 for 7 while Karunarate bagged three wickets for 6 runs.

New York Strikers also displaced Delhi Bulls from the top of the table to clinch the top slot. Bulls who began with three consecutive victories were also defeated by Samp Army in their last match and have slipped to the third slot.

Earlier, batting star Gurbaz struck an unbeaten 49, which came off 24 balls with two boundaries and five sixes, after Delhi Bulls won the toss. Gurbaz dedicated his fighting knock to his elder brother. Smith’s unbeaten 25 was scored off 15 balls with one boundary and two sixes. Gurbaz and Smith had put on an unbeaten 67 runs off 27 balls for the fifth wicket.

Delhi Bulls’s chase began on a shaky note. West Indies slow left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein had opener Johnson Charles leg before for a duck to the second ball of the first over. With the next ball, he clean bowled one-drop James Vince. In the second over, Mohammad Amir also got Rilee Rossouw caught by Chamika Karunaratne at mid-on for 4. Three wickets were thus down before the score reached double figures.

Wickets continued to fall in the third over too when Hosein clean-bowled Usman who went for a sweep and missed the ball for 3. Karunaratne who bowled the fifth over got opener Quinton de Kock caught and bowled for five with the second delivery and the consistent skipper Rovman Powell was caught behind by Gurbaz for 2 with the fourth ball. With the fifth ball, he also got Bravo caught behind while trying to flick. The scoreboard read a pathetic 15 for 7 at the halfway stage.

Sunil Narine had Navin Ul Haq brilliantly stumped by Gurbaz off the third ball of the sixth over for the fourth duck of the innings. Ravi Bopara and Gleeson held on till the ninth over before Gleenson too got caught behind by Gurbaz off Muhammad Jawadullah for 1. Bopara became the only batsman to reach double figures but hit a high catch off Odean Smith to Karunaratne at point for 16. Delhi Bulls were bowled out in 9.3 overs for a record-low score.

Brief scores:

New York Strikers 98/4 in 10 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 49 n.o, Odean Smith 25 n.o, Wasim Akram 2-15) beat Delhi Bulls 31 all out in 9.3 overs (Akeal Hosein 3-7, Chamika Karunaratne 3-6) by 67 runs.

-IANS

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