Sports Bulletin

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Dubai (November 6, 2021):-David Warner and Mitchell Marsh guided Australia to a routine victory over the West Indies by eight wickets at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi to leave them on the verge of reaching the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 semi-finals. Warner and Marsh’s terrific partnership of 123 took the game away from the West Indies with the Australian opener hitting form at a crucial time with his second half-century of the tournament, making an unbeaten 89 from only 56 balls. Marsh departed with only one more needed to win for a splendid 53 but, barring a huge win for South Africa over England later, Australia will compete in the last four. Earlier, Josh Hazlewood took four wickets as the West Indies posted 157 for seven thanks to Kieron Pollard’s 44 and Andre Russell’s late maximums but it proved to not be enough with Warner firmly in the mood. After being put in to bat, the West Indies openers Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle went berserk in the second over, taking Hazlewood for 20 runs. Gayle’s entertaining cameo of 15 from nine balls, including two sixes, was ended when he chopped on against Mitchell Starc, the 42-year-old raised his bat on his way off the ground suggesting it may have been his last innings for the West Indies. Hazlewood swung the momentum firmly back Australia’s way in the fourth over, taking two wickets in three balls. The dangerous Nicholas Pooran was caught at cover for four and then Roston Chase’s stumps were rearranged by a nip-backer before he had troubled the scorers. Shimron Hetmyer, fresh from his unbeaten 81 in a losing cause against Sri Lanka, joined Lewis and together they brought up the West Indies’ half-century by the end of the powerplay. The pair’s promising partnership of 35 was ended by leg-spinner Adam Zampa as Steve Smith held on to a steepler to send Lewis back to the hutch for 29 off 26 balls as the West Indies made it to 74 for four. Captain Kieron Pollard was given a reprieve on three when Zampa could not cling on to a caught and bowled chance. But Hetmyer was not so lucky, gloving a rising Hazlewood delivery behind to Matthew Wade, having to depart for a patient 27 off 28 balls to leave West Indies struggling at 91 for five. The West Indies brought up their 100 from the first ball of the 16th over before Dwayne Bravo, in his last T20I innings, smoked a six over extra cover to try and inject some much-needed impetus. Skipper Pollard then came to the party, blasting 13 runs off Pat Cummins to leave his side on 123 for five with three to go. Hazlewood’s remarkable recovery from his expensive first over continued when Bravo became his fourth victim, but Pollard was undeterred, finding the boundary twice more. He eventually went for 44 off 31 balls when he skied one to Glenn Maxwell in Mitchell Starc’s final over. But Andre Russell had the last say, blasting two sixes off the last two balls to leave Australia needing 158 to win. Captain Aaron Finch and Warner got the chase off to a perfect start, putting on 33 in 21 balls. Finch went for nine when he was bowled by Akeal Hosein but Warner was the aggressor and did not relent when joined by Mitchell Marsh, Australia finishing the powerplay on 53 for one. Warner grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck with some belligerent hitting and brought up a terrific half-century off just 29 balls to put Australia firmly in the driving seat. The West Indies struggled to bowl a consistent line and were picked off easily by Warner and Marsh, Hosein let one through his legs for four off Russell which just about summed things up for Pollard’s men. At 98 for one at the halfway mark, Australia were cruising needing exactly a run a ball to finish the job and put them on the cusp of the semi-finals. West Indies tried to halt Australia’s serene progress with a barrage of slower balls, but they could not stop Marsh from bringing up a fantastic first World Cup fifty off only 28 balls and with it the pair’s century stand. Warner unceremoniously ushered Bravo into retirement with some sublime shot-making, an audacious reverse sweep for four followed by a huge six over square leg coming from the West Indian’s final over. The game ended in strange fashion with Gayle brought on to bowl his part-time off-spin in a cap, seemingly confirming he would also be retiring after the game. Gayle almost had a perfect send-off but wicket-keeper Pooran missed a stumping chance off Warner However, the veteran was not to be denied a wicket as Marsh, 53 from 32 balls, tamely chipped one straight to Jason Holder at mid-off with the scores level. That ended a sensational match-winning partnership, but Warner got the job done with a boundary as Australia won with 22 balls to spare before forming a guard of honour for the retiring West Indies legends. Australia beat West Indies at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by eight wickets West Indies 157/7 in 20 overs (Kieron Pollard 44, Evin Lewis 29; Josh Hazlewood 4/39, Adam Zampa 1/20) Australia 161/2 in 16.2 overs (David Warner 89 not out, Mitchell Marsh 53; Chris Gayle 1/7, Akeal Hosein 1/29) Player of the Match: David Warner (Australia)

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (November 6, 2021):-West Indies have been fined 20% per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Sri Lanka in the Super 12s match at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on 4 November. Kieron Pollard of West Indies and Dasun Shanaka of Sri Lanka shake hands following the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between West Indies and Sri Lanka at Sheikh Zayed stadium on November 04, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. West Indies have been fined 20% per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Sri Lanka in the Super 12s match at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on 4 November. David Boon of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Kieron Pollard’s side was ruled to be one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. Kieron Pollard pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Aleem Dar and Langton Rusere, third umpire Paul Wilson and fourth umpire Richard Kettleborough leveled the charge.

SPORTS DESK Islamabad (November 6, 2021):-India kept their hopes of reaching the semi-finals at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup alive with a comprehensive eight-wicket triumph over Scotland at the Dubai International Stadium. Knowing they had no margin for error after losing their first two Super 12 games against Pakistan and New Zealand, Virat Kohli’s men produced a superb bowling display to dismiss Scotland for 85. Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami both finished with figures of three for 15 while Jasprit Bumrah (two for 10) and Ravichandran Ashwin (one for 29) also impressed with the ball. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma made easy work of the response, scoring 50 and 30 respectively before Suryakumar Yadav hit the winning runs as India reached their target with eight wickets and 81 balls to spare. After calling the toss right for the first time in this tournament, birthday boy Kohli put Scotland in to bat knowing that chasing would be better for his side’s net run-rate in their bid to overhaul the Black Caps for second spot. Scotland enjoyed a bright start to life at the crease though as George Munsey launched Bumrah for a huge six over the square-leg boundary off the final ball of the first over. Munsey continued to play his shots against the returning Varun Chakravarthy, who came into the India side in place of Shardul Thakur, reverse sweeping the spinner for four in the next over. Bumrah eventually made the first breakthrough in the third over, bowling Kyle Coetzer as the Scotland skipper looked to drive to leave his side at 13 for one in the early stages. But Munsey continued to look comfortable at the other end, following up a watchful first few balls from Ashwin to strike a superb four that bisected extra-cover and mid-off. Two further fours from the last two balls of the over via reverse sweeps took Munsey to 23 from 14 balls and saw Scotland finish their first four overs at the crease on 25 for one. Varun restricted Scotland to just one run from the next over and with pressure mounting, India got their man in the fifth over as Munsey smashed Shami to Hardik Pandya for 24. Having finished the powerplay on 27 for two, Scotland suffered another setback in the next over as Richie Berrington was bowled without scoring by Jadeja. It went from bad to worse in the final ball of Jadeja’s first over, with Matt Cross following Berrington back to the changing room after being struck lbw on his back pad. Scotland stopped the bleeding in the next over with Calum MacLeod and Michael Leask at the crease but they could only add three runs to take the score to 32 for four. Leask provided a response in the 11th over, pulling a short ball from Shami for six despite hitting the top edge of the bat before drilling the next ball for four straight down the ground. But Leask’s resistance was ended in the very next over, becoming Jadeja’s third victim after being hit lbw while attempting to sweep through midwicket as he departed for 21 from 12 balls. Scotland were now well and truly on the back foot and following just one run off Bumrah in the 13th over, Chris Greaves lost his wicket to Ashwin after skewing the ball to Pandya. Mark Watt joined MacLeod in the middle and a misfield from Shami allowed him to find the boundary in the 15th over before edging Ashwin for another four in the next. Shami made up for his error with the ball in hand however, taking two wickets as he sent MacLeod (16) and Alasdair Evans packing either side of Safyaan Sharif being run out. Bumrah wrapped up the innings in the 18th over, beating the bat of Mark Watt (14) to take his leg stump on the half-volley as Scotland were left stranded on 85 all out. In response, India did not hang around - knowing they needed to reach their target in 8.5 overs to go past New Zealand’s net run-rate and in 7.1 overs to go past Afghanistan's. Sharma and Rahul set about their task intent from the off, with the former hitting Watt for four in the first over before the latter found the boundary three times against Brad Wheal in the next over. Rahul added another four from the first ball of new bowler Evans before nonchalantly clipping the next ball for six as India reached 39 without loss through three overs. Sharma took the attack to Sharif with a six and two fours to bring up the fastest team 50 of the tournament to date while Wheal was also punished before taking the wicket of Sharma. That did little to stem the tide though, with Rahul hitting Watt for six over the long leg boundary before bringing up his half-century from 18 balls. Rahul was unable to see his side home, losing his wicket to Watt off the final ball of the same over, but Yadav hit Greaves for six to secure victory in style from just 6.3 overs. Scores in brief India beat Scotland at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai by eight wickets Scotland 85 in 17.4 overs (George Munsey 24, Michael Leask 21; Ravindra Jadeja 3/15, Mohammed Shami 3/15) India 89/2 in 6.3 overs (KL Rahul 50; Rohit Sharma 30; Mark Watt 1/20, Brad Wheal 1/32) Player of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja

Report: - ABDULLAH ASJAD Islamabad(November 5,2021):-New Zealand beat Namibia by 52 runs in the ICC Men’s World T20 Cup 2021at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday. Scotland’s Captain Gerhard Erasmus asked New Zealand’s Skipper Kane Williams to bat fist after winning the toss. Black Capes batter Glenn Phillips played a smart innings of 39 runs after west 21 deliveries. He smashed solitary four and 3 classic sixes while all rounder batter James Neesham increased 35 runs in team total and faced 23 balls. He hit single four and pair of huge maximums. Skipper Kane Williamson scored 28 runs. New Zealand set 164 runs target on score board. Namibians bowler Bernard Scholtz took single wicket and conceded 15 runs. All rounder David Wiese proved very expensive he picked up only wicket after giving 40 runs. Captain Gerhard Erasmus took 1 wicket too. In reply, Namibians batting line failed to chase a big total and all out on just 111 runs in 20 overs game. Namibian batter Michael Van Lingen scored 25 runs in 25 balls. Wicketkeeper Zane Green added 23 runs after facing 27 balls while Stephan Baard contributed 21 runs only. Tim Southee took 2 wickets and gave just 15 runs. Pacer Trent Boult sent 2 out for the pavilion for 20 runs while James Neeshum got solitary wicket and declared man of the match. Summarized Result: New Zealand Batting: Glenn Phillips (39 run in 21 balls) 1 four 3 six, James Neesham (35 runs in 23 balls) 1 four 2 six Kane Williamson (28 runs in 25 balls) 2 four 1 six, Namibia Bowling: Bernard Scholtz 1 for 15 runs, Gerhard Erasmus 1 for 22 runs, David Wiese 1 for 40 runs Namibia Batting: Michael Van Lingen(25 runs in 25 balls) 2 four 1 six, Zane Green(23 runs in 27 balls)1 four 1 six, Stephan Baard(21 runs in 22 balls)2 fours New Zealand Bowling: Tim Southee 2 for 15 runs, Trent Boult 2 for 20 runs, James Neeshum 1 for 6 runs Toss: Namibia won the toss decided to bowl first Man of the Match: James Neeshum

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (November 5, 2021):-The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has approved Michael Jones as a replacement for Joshua Davey in the Scotland squad. Michael Jones of Scotland poses for a picture during the Scotland Portrait Session for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier at The Holiday Inn on February 28, 2018 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has approved Michael Jones as a replacement for Joshua Davey in the Scotland squad. Right hand batter Jones, who has played nine ODIs, was named as a replacement after Davey was ruled out due to a groin injury. Jones was a reserve as per the allowance for teams to travel with extra players in view of COVID-19 quarantine requirements. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 consists of Chris Tetley (Head of Events, Chair), Clive Hitchcock (ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager), Rahul Dravid and Dhiraj Malhotra (BCCI Representatives), Simon Doull and Ian Bishop (Independent Members).

Sports Bulletin Report Abu Dhabi (November 5, 2021):-Charith Asalanka and Pathum Nissanka’s inspired batting helped propel Sri Lanka to a 20-run win over the West Indies, ending their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on a high. The pair put on 91 for the second wicket, with Asalanka making 68 and Nissanka 51, as their side soared to 189 for three to set a challenging target. Kieron Pollard’s men were never equal to the task and the late heroics of Shimron Hetmyer, to the tune of 81 not out, were in vain as they ended on 169 for eight from their 20 overs. The West Indies opted for the off-spin of Roston Chase in the opening over for the first time in the tournament to counter Kusal Perera, who tentatively poked him for four with the third ball. Both the southpaw, searching for his first big score, and Nissanka settled well and Perera was typically severe on a short ball from Ravi Rampaul, smacking it flat over square leg for six. Perera perished on 29 when he offered a sharp return catch to Andre Russell, who adjusted his weight superbly to dive down and pouch the catch. From 42 for one, Nissanka and Asalanka embarked on their partnership that was characterised by subtle, fine glances and innovative use of the crease to score heavily behind square. Akeal Hosein’s spin had posed Nissanka problems and he countered by using his reverse sweep to swat him for a one-bounce four to bring the stand to 50. Frustration grew in the field when Russell found Nissanka’s outside edge only for it to fly to the fence and then he strayed down the leg side and was clipped to the boundary by Asalanka. They built a partnership of 91 from 61 balls, that came to an end when Dwayne Bravo’s latest slower ball variation forced Nissanka into a big swing and he was caught by Hetmyer. Sri Lanka barely slowed down and with skipper Dasun Shanaka freeing his arms to complement Asalanka, the 17th and 18th overs went for 16 and 17 runs respectively. Two further blows for four from each of them was followed by Asalanka’s superb knock coming to an end when he top-edged a pull off Russell that Hetmyer did well to dive forward and grab. Rampaul bowled an excellent final over but the momentum lay firmly with Sri Lanka and rolled over into the start of the run chase. Beanpole quick Binura Fernando forced Chris Gayle into a soft dismissal, looping up a simple catch to Wanindu Hasaranga at mid-on. After a pair of quick boundaries from Evin Lewis, he forced the other Windies opener to chop onto his stumps and it was 10 for two. Fernando was in the thick of it and he took punishment from Nicholas Pooran, who cut loose with three boundaries in four balls from his second over including an emphatic six over wide long-on. Just as Chase looked to have settled, he fell victim to a blinding diving catch at midwicket from Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who threw himself to his left to take a stunner and dismiss him for nine. Pooran and Hetmyer tried to steady the ship but the latter failed to score quickly enough to prevent his partner from having to take undue risks. They combined for 30 from 34 balls but Pooran went for one big shot too many and holed out off Dushmanatha Chameera to long-off for 46. Oddly, the loss of Pooran seemed to free Hetmyer to play his natural game and he hooked the very next ball for six and then crashed Chameera for four in an eventful 13th over. The revival wasn’t to last, however, as Andre Russell offered a tame return catch to Chamika Karunaratne to make it 94 for five, a blow that looked fatal to Windies’ chances. The equation looked bleak and although Hetmyer swung Karunaratne for three fours that over, Pollard was clean bowled for a golden duck to settle the matter at 107 for six. Hetmyer played a superb and largely lone hand, hitting Karunaratne for successive sixes and then a four, ending on a defiant unbeaten 81 from 54 balls. It was an emphatic way for Sri Lanka to finish an encouraging tournament, while West Indies will hope to end their title defence with victory over Australia on Saturday. Scores in brief Sri Lanka beat West Indies at the Sheikh Zayed International Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 20 runs Sri Lanka 189/3 in 20 overs (Charith Asalanka 68; Pathum Nissanka 51; Andre Russell 2/33, Dwayne Bravo 1/42) West Indies 169/8 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 81 not out, Nicholas Pooran 46; Wanindu Hasaranga 2/19, Binura Fernando 2/24) Player of the Match: Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka)

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (November 4, 2021):-Adam Zampa’s five-wicket haul and a quickfire 40 from Aaron Finch saw Australia ease to an eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a group 1 match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai on Thursday. Put in to bat, Bangladesh slipped to 10 for three and never recovered as all the Australian bowlers fired to dismiss Bangladesh for 73. Aaron Finch and David Warner made short work of the chase as Australia reached the total with 82 balls to spare to boost their qualification hopes. The tone was set by Mitchell Starc, who clean bowled Liton Das for a golden duck with the third ball of the innings. In the next over, Josh Hazlewood undid Soumya Sarkar with added pace before Finch turned to the spin of Glenn Maxwell and the surprise move paid off, Mushfiqur Rahim falling for a single. Another wicket would fall before the end of the powerplay and it was a key one, with the promising Mohammad Naim picking out Pat Cummins at square leg as the Tigers ended the powerplay on 33 for four. There was no let-up when Zampa entered the attack, with his first ball seeing Afif Hossain edge to captain Finch at first slip. Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah combined with Shamim Hossain to engineer something of a rebuild, reaching 58 for five after an opening 10 overs which included 35 dot balls. Zampa then struck with consecutive balls as Shamim fell for 19 before Mahedi Hassan was trapped lbw. The leg-spinner would have to wait patiently through overs from Starc and Cummins for the chance to make it three in three and he was denied his maiden hat-trick as Matthew Wade dropped Taskin Ahmed. As a consolation, he went on to complete his five-for, taking the final two wickets of Bangladesh’s innings to finish with five for 19, his best figures in T20Is. With Australia knowing net run rate was crucial, Finch set about chasing the total down as quickly as possible and joined forces with Warner to take 12 runs off Mustafizur Rahman’s first over Mustafizur’s next was no better as Warner and Finch dispatched him for four boundaries to add 21 to their total. Taskin responded well to being crashed for consecutive sixes by Finch, clean bowling the skipper but only after he had made 40 off 19 balls as Australia ended the fifth over at 58 for one. Warner went in the next over, again clean bowled, this time by Shoriful Islam as Australia completed the powerplay needing only seven runs for victory. Mitchell Marsh needed only three balls to complete the job, finishing the game in style with a six as Australia eased home. Scores in brief  Australia beat Bangladesh at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai by eight wickets Bangladesh, 73 all out in 15 overs (Shamim Hossain 19, Naim Mohammad 17; Adam Zampa 5/19, Josh Hazlewood 2-8) Australia 78/2 in 6.3 overs (Aaron Finch 40, David Warner 18; Taskin Ahmed 1/36, Shoriful Islam 1/9) Player of the Match: Adam Zampa (Australia) 

Sports Bulletin Report Abu Dhabi (November 3, 2021):-Aruthless India kept their slim ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final hopes alive with a convincing 66-run victory over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. Virat Kohli’s side entered the match knowing the side needed three victories from their remaining matches to stand any chance of making the last four following back-to-back defeats. An excellent opening partnership of 140 between Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul laid the foundations and then Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya provided the late fireworks, adding 63 in just 21 balls to take India to 210 for two, the highest score of the tournament so far. Afghanistan’s attack badly missed the injured Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the loss of both openers inside four overs quickly left them playing catch-up in reply. Karim Janat (42 not out) and Mohammad Nabi (35) provided cameos but Mohammed Shami (three for 32) and the returning Ravi Ashwin (two for 14) helped India see out a comfortable and morale-boosting win. Having been restricted to 110 for seven by New Zealand on Sunday, India were eager for a strong start when inserted at the toss and their experienced openers provided it. Rohit ended the opening over in style, lofting Gulbadin Naib for four over mid-off, and Rahul provided his own statement of intent five balls later by smashing Sharafuddin Ashraf over long-on for the first six of the innings. Another followed in a costly fifth over, which ended with India on 52 without loss after Rohit cleared the ropes over long-off before driving through cover for four more. Afghanistan’s attack temporarily stemmed the tide as the opening pair rotated the strike, with no boundaries for 20 balls, but Rahul ended the mini drought and soon swept Rashid Khan behind square as the scoreboard continued to motor. Rohit won the race to his half century, getting there in 37 balls, and a savage pull for six by his partner brought up the pair’s fourth T20I century stand later in the 12th over. Rahul was raising his bat at the start of the 13th after reaching his half century in two fewer balls than Rohit, who took the attack to Rashid and slammed successive sixes shortly afterwards. Just as Rohit looked to truly cut loose, however, his superb knock was ended when he drove Janat to Mohammad Nabi at extra cover to provide Afghanistan with a much-needed breakthrough. Pant was promoted to number three to continue the attack and having survived reviews from consecutive Rashid deliveries, he made the most of his reprieves by carting Gulbadin for huge back-to-back maximums to hand India back their momentum after the seamer had cleaned up Rahul earlier in the over. Pandya also took advantage of a let-off, thumping two sixes off the unfortunate Naveen after a routine chance had been put down by Najibullah Zadran coming round from long-off, and another mighty blow from Pant took India past 200 in the final over to leave Afghanistan with a mountain to climb. Knowing he had to put his foot down from the outset, Hazratullah Zazai got the chase up and running by taking on India’s dangerous new ball pair, cutting Mohammed Shami for four before lofting Jasprit Bumrah over the deep mid-wicket boundary. Neither took long to hit back, however, as both openers fell in successive deliveries. Shami induced a leading edge to see the back of Mohammad Shahzad for a four-ball duck and when Zazai sliced to mid-on off Bumrah, Afghanistan were 13 for two. The incoming Rahmanullah Gurbaz was quickly into his stride, launching Shami for back-to-back sixes in a fifth over which cost 21 to breathe fresh life into the chase. Gulbadin followed up with twin boundaries off Pandya as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 47 for two, just six runs adrift of where India had been at the same stage. The eight wickets in hand soon became seven as Rahmanullah went on the attack once more and was well held by Pandya inches inside the rope at long-on from the bowling of Ravi Jadeja. Then came a landmark moment for Jadeja’s fellow spinner Ashwin, who trapped a sweeping Gulbadin in front to claim his first T20I scalp since 2016 and leave Afghanistan 61 for four at the halfway stage of the reply. The same bowler then clean bowled Najibullah Zadran, attempting a reverse sweep, and didn’t concede a boundary in a miserly four overs which represented a fine return to his country’s limited overs side. The required rate was growing all the time but Nabi and Janat were in no mood to throw in the towel. The pair added 57 for the fifth wicket before Shami returned to seal the deal, with Nabi excellently caught by a diving Jadeja at mid-wicket and Rashid launching his first delivery to Pandya at mid-off. Janat crowned his impressive unbeaten 42 from 22 balls with a six from the final ball of the innings but Afghanistan must now beat New Zealand and hope other results go their way if they are to make the semi-finals. Scores in brief India beat Afghanistan at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 66 runs India 210/2 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 74, KL Rahul 69; Karim Janat 1/7, Gulbadin Naib 1/39) Afghanistan 144/7 in 20 overs (Karim Janat 42 not out, Mohammad Nabi 35; Mohammed Shami 3/32, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/14)

Dubai (November 3, 2021):-The ICC today confirmed that umpire Michael Gough will not be appointed to any further matches during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 The ICC today confirmed that umpire Michael Gough will not be appointed to any further matches during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 following a breach of the bio-security protocols. The ICC recognises the extended periods he has spent in bio-secure conditions over the past two years and will continue to support the wellbeing of all match officials operating in this environment. (Press Release)

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Dubai (November 3, 2021):-The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has approved Reece Topley as a replacement for Tymal Mills in the England squad. Left-arm fast bowler Topley, who has played 13 ODIs and six T20Is, was named as a replacement after Mills was ruled out due to a thigh injury. Topley was a reserve as per the allowance for teams to travel with extra players in view of COVID-19 quarantine requirements. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 consists of Chris Tetley (Head of Events, Chair), Clive Hitchcock (ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager), Rahul Dravid and Dhiraj Malhotra (BCCI Representatives), Simon Doull and Ian Bishop (Independent Members).