Ind vs Pak T20 World Cup: Umpires come under fire for giving no-ball in final over, Pakistani fans call it cheating

Fans and experts were left baffled by a few on-field decisions after India’s epic four-wicket over Pakistan in a heart-stopping T20 World Cup game, that unfolded at the MCG ‘which was packed with 90,000 boisterous fans on Sunday.

Virat Kohli conjured up a magical and memorable unbeaten 82-run knock to anchor a chase of 160 which became tricky after India were left in tatters at 31 for 4.

Hardik Pandya, the most important cog in India’s T20 wheel, struck 40 off 37 balls in a partnership of 113.

The duo took the match to the final over as the match stood on the knife’s edge.

With 16 needed off the last six balls, Pandya holed out off Mohammed Nawaz’s bowling and with rule of crossover non existent, Dinesh Karthik faced his first delivery and took a single.

With 14 needed off three balls, Nawaz’s juicy full-toss was dispatched for a six over square leg and it was called a no-ball after deliberation by on-field umpires.

Nawaz, the hero of Pakistan’s Super 4 victory in the Asia Cup, by then had lost his nerves.

After Karthik was stumped by an alert Mohammed Rizwan, Nawaz bowled a wide and Ravichandran Ashwin scored the most important boundary of his career.

The no-ball left a bitter taste in the fans’ mouths as Kohli got bowled on a free-hit but instead of calling it a dead ball the umpire gave three byes and that proved crucial for India.

Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg tweeted: “Why was no ball not reviewed, then how can it not be a dead ball when Kohli was bowled on a free hit.”

Fans took to social media to call it cheating. While some threw the law book at the umpires.

Babar Azam opens up ahead of home series against West Indies

Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has opened up ahead of the three-ODI matches home series against the West Indies and identified certain targets to achieve during the series.

While speaking to the media at the National High Performance Center in Lahore, Azam highlighted the importance of putting up a strong display against the visiting team ahead of a long season.

“We are confident about winning the series against West Indies. It is not easy to play in high temperatures which is why players are putting in the hard yards in the ongoing conditioning camp,” said the Pakistan skipper.

Babar Azam remarked that Pakistan has important series coming up and performing well will also help them prepare for the T20 World Cup later this year.

“We have a fairly long cricket season. After West Indies, we have to go on an important tour of Sri Lanka. We have a series against England and more importantly the T20 World Cup as well,” Babar added.

While talking about the series against West Indies, Babar said that he will continue to lead from the front to set an example for the rest to follow.

“I always try to perform in a manner which helps the team. Planning is important when playing in different conditions. I also try to remain calm when I enter the field,” he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also accepted New Zealand’s invitation to feature in a three-team tri-series that also includes Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup. Commenting on this, Babar said it will benefit the team immensely.

“Playing in New Zealand will benefit us if it happens. Their conditions are similar to the venue of the World Cup, Australia, which will help us in the mega event,” he concluded.

Ravi Shastri spoke at length about his chances of joining the England team as the head coach in an interview with the Guardian, adding that picking Ben Stokes as the captain of the Test side might fire him up even more.Mumbai: Former India men’s cricket team chief coach Ravi Shastri in an interview by The Guardian, said that coaching India comes at a price with 1.4 billion people judging you all the time and it does take a toll, adding that it is a full-time job with 300 days a year’s duty and staying there for seven years was quite challenging in its own way.

   Wanindu Hasaranga took 2/23 from his four overs for Royal Challengers Bangalore to help restrict Rajasthan Royals to 144/8 on Tuesday.

Hasaranga has now picked up 13 scalps from his nine IPL matches to be tied for fourth for most wickets at the tournament and looks on track to be one of the stars of the T20 World Cup 2022.

Find out which other players are boosting their chances of making the trip to Australia for the tournament later this year.   

 Afghanistan 

It’s been a quiet IPL for Afghanistan’s white-ball contingent, with spinner Rashid Khan the sole performer at Gujarat Titans thus far.

And Rashid is proving his usual reliable self, with the leg-spinner already having picked up eight wickets at an average of 22.75 and an impressive economy rate of 6.50.

Experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is in the squad at Kolkata Knight Riders, but is yet to be used by New Zealand coach Brendon McCullum.   

 Australia 

Perhaps Australia’s most impressive performer at the IPL so far this year is David Warner, with the evergreen opener already amassing 219 runs at an average greater than 50 for Delhi Capitals.

Dynamic all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (124 runs at 24.8 for Royal Challengers Bangalore) is yet to catch fire, while national T20 skipper Aaron Finch has one half-century to his name with Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Lucknow Super Giants are yet to see the best of big-money signing Marcus Stoinis (72 runs from four hits) and veteran Matthew Wade (68 runs from five innings) is faring no better with the bat during his stint at Gujarat Titans.

From a bowling perspective, veteran seamer Josh Hazlewood (10 wickets from five matches at Royal Challengers Bangalore) is leading the way, while all-rounder Daniel Sams (six wickets from five games for Mumbai Indians) has shown glimpses of his best.

Test skipper Pat Cummins has four wickets from four games for the Kolkata Knight Riders, but did make a strong impression with the bat when he scored a 14-ball half-century against Sams and the Mumbai Indians earlier in the tournament.

Bangladesh

Left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman has been in good form at the IPL and has already contributed five wickets from six games for Delhi Capitals.

His best performance came against Gujarat Titans at the start of the tournament when he picked up 3/23 from an impressive spell that included two crucial overs at the end of the innings.

England 

 No player has made a greater impression at the IPL this year than England batter Jos Buttler, who has amassed three centuries in a starring role for Rajasthan Royals.

In total he has 499 runs at an average of 71.28, which is more than 100 runs greater than anyone else at the tournament.

Buttler has also hit the most sixes (32) and the most fours (42) at this year’s tournament and England will be hoping the 31-year-old can replicate this form at the T20 World Cup later this year.

While unable to match the heroics of Butter, national team-mate Liam Livingstone is proving his worth at Punjab Kings with his 245 runs coming at an average north of 30.

Team-mate Jonny Bairstow (47 runs from five hits) is struggling at the Kings, while left-arm seamer Tymal Mills has six wickets from five games at the tournament for Mumbai Indians.

    Rajasthan Royals will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 30 of IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium. Both teams have had an excellent start to the tournament but have some weaknesses exposed, in their last few games. Kolkata Knight Riders, in particular, have suffered back-to-back defeats and their opening woes have continued despite the axing of Ajinkya Rahane. Aaron Finch might get another chance at the top to prove his credentials while Varun Chakravarthy will be looking to recover from the off-day he had.On the other hand, the Rajasthan Royals felt the absence of Trent Boult in the line-up with inexperienced Kuldeep Sen, going for plenty. Rassie van der Dussen yet again was dismissed cheaply and Yashasvi Jaiswal might get a look in again at the top of the order. Shimron Hetmyer has been a revelation for them in the middle overs and the franchise will be looking to get back to winning ways in their upcoming encounter.

  Venue: Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai 

Date & Time: 18th April, 7:30 PM

 Live Streaming: Star Sports Network for Television and Disney + Hotstar app for live streaming.

PITCH REPORT

The pitch at the Brabourne Stadium generally assists both bowlers and batsmen, with the dew factor coming to play deep in the match. The short boundaries and a quick outfield are expected to thrill the batsmen.