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Bangladesh fall short as South Africa conjure a win from nowhere
South Africa survived an almighty scare to to maintain a 100% win-record at the T20 World Cup 2024 and in New York, where they chose to bat first in their final fixture at Eisenhower Park. On a used wicket, Aiden Markram decided to put a total on the board, and it almost looked like a mistake. South Africa were 23 for 4, but a record 79-run fifth-wicket stand between Heinrich Klassen and David Miller took them to 113, which they scrapped hard to defend.
Bangladesh’s start was not ideal. They were 50 for 4 after ten overs, but Towhid Hridoy and Mahmudullah put on 44 for the fifth wicket and got them back on track. They almost also got them over the line and will look back on one incident which could have forced a Super Over. In the 17th over, Mahmudullah missed a flick off Ottneil Baartman, which hit his front pad and deflected to the boundary for what looked like four leg byes. But he was given out off that ball, which made it dead at the point of impact, and reviewed the decision. Ball-tracking showed Mahmudullah was not out, but because he had been given out, the four runs did not count, as outlined by the ICC’s protocols on DRS (3.7.1) in the playing conditions for T20Is.
In the end. Bangladesh fell short by four runs. That, and their inability to capitalise on Keshav Maharaj bowling the final over for the first time in T20Is and sending down three full tosses, cost them the game.
Maharaj was tasked with the final over after Markram bowled the seamers out earlier. It seemed a miscalculation, but he got two wickets as Bangladesh sought to clear the boundary though neither Jaker Ali nor Mahmudullah could. Mahmudullah was out on the penultimate ball – off a full toss – to a well-timed running catch by Markram from long-on, which all but ended Bangladesh’s hopes.
South Africa leave the USA with three wins from three matches, and will move to St. Vincent to play Nepal in their last group match. They are in pole position to qualify for the Super 8s. Bangladesh also head to the West Indies, and will play Netherlands and Nepal, with the Super 8s still in sight.
For all the talk about the power of their batting line-up, South Africa’s top three have under-performed thus far, albeit on tough batting surfaces. Collectively, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks and Markram have scored 61 runs in nine trips to the crease at an average of 6.77. Of teams that have played at least two matches at the tournament, only Uganda and PNG average lower.
The biggest concern will be Hendricks, whose scores of 4, 3 and 0 are the lowest of the trio, and whose methods of dismissal appear to show a technical deficiency. Twice in two games, Hendricks has been stuck in his crease and then played down the wrong line. He’ll be looking over his shoulder knowing fellow opener Ryan Rickelton is waiting on the bench, and could get an opportunity in the next match.
Things got even worse when Tristan Stubbs was dismissed for a duck in the fifth over. South Africa have only lost their first four wickets by end of the fifth over on five occasions in men’s T20Is, and two of them came in this competition. Happily for them, they had Klaasen and Miller on hand to shore up the mid-section of the innings.
After Tanzim Hasan (3 for 18) set the tone with wickets upfront, Taskin Ahmed took charge of the latter stages, helped by Rishad Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman. Between them, the trio gave away just 13 runs in the last three overs of South Africa’s innings, and removed both danger batters Klaasen and Miller in a clutch display of death bowling. Klaasen was dismissed halfway through the 18th over, when he slogged across the line but was early on his shot, and the low bounce took the ball onto leg stump. Taskin only conceded three singles off the rest of that over to finish with 2 for 19 from his four overs.
It may have been a gamble to use legspinner Rishad for the penultimate over, especially when his previous three cost 28 runs, but he knocked Miller out with a topspinner second ball, and Maharaj could not get him away. Rishad’s final over cost just four. Then came the Fizz, who took the ball away from Maharaj for four consecutive dots before a fifth went wide and was called as such. The batters scored three runs off the last two balls and were frustrated by their inability to score any boundaries in the last three overs.
On his 35th birthday, Miller was given a gift when he edged the first ball Mahmudullah bowled. But Litton Das, who was standing up to the stumps, was unable to react quickly enough to take the catch. Miller was on 13 at the time and went on to more than double his score and finish on 29. But that wasn’t the end of the presents for him. He was stationed at extra cover when Maharaj was brought on to bowl the first over after the powerplay, and Litton, not content with what he had already given Miller, slapped the ball straight to him. Miller made no mistake, and Bangladesh were 29 for 2 in the seventh over.
Bangladesh had to get 20 runs off the last 18 balls, and after putting on the squeeze in that period would have expected it to be difficult but perhaps not this difficult. Kagiso Rabada bowled the 18th over, despite not being his best at the tournament so far. He only half-appealed when Hridoy missed an attempted clip to the leg side but was rewarded with a wicket first up. Rabada went on to concede only one more run in an over of hard lengths.
Then Baartman stepped up for the 19th, and stuck to a slightly fuller length which neither Mahmudullah nor Jaker could get away. He conceded seven runs. The test was when Maharaj, who has never done this job before, was left with the final six balls. He started with a wide. His second legal ball was a low full toss that Mahmudullah hit hard down the ground, but the slow outfield stopped it from getting to the rope. Jaker tried to send the next one over the rope but couldn’t clear long-on, and then Rishad managed a leg bye.
But the last two balls were both full tosses that should have been dispatched over the rope. However, Mahmdullah’s effort found Markram, while Taskin could only hit the final ball to cover to give South Africa a nervy anti-choke win.
Brief scores:
South Africa 113 for 6 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 46, David Miller 29; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 3-18, Taskin Ahmed 2-19, Rishad Hossain 1-32) beat Bangladesh 109 for 7 in 20 overs (Towhid Hridoy 37, Mahmudullah 20; Keshav Maharaj 3-27, Anrich Nortje 2-17, Kagiso Rabada 2-19) by four runs
[Cricinfo]
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Ronaldo apologizes for Portugal walkout; says Jesus broke promise
Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Portugal coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word, saying a failed agreement to publicly explain his omission against Norway drove him out of the camp, but insisting he remained available after any punishment.
In a lengthy statement, the 41-year-old gave his account of the dispute that prompted his departure from Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match versus Denmark last week.
Ronaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which the forward would miss the Norway and Denmark matches to manage his fitness. However, on the day of the Norway game, the coach told him he would play for 30 minutes.
“Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from halftime onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn’t called on,” Ronaldo said.
“The manager had broken his word to me.”
Portugal’s captain and all-time leading scorer said a subsequent meeting with Jesus, attended by his club side Al Nassr’s sporting director Simao Coutinho, produced an agreement for the coach to clarify events at his next news conference.
According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, had respected Jesus’s decisions and that the coach asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.
Ronaldo said the agreed notes did not require Jesus to apologise to him but said the coach’s public remarks bore no resemblance to their private discussion.
“It was the second time he had broken his word to me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.”
The statement provided Ronaldo’s account, but on Sunday, after Portugal’s win over Norway, Jesus denied he had made any agreement with the player, nevertheless leaving the door open for his return.
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Ronaldo’s statement.
Ronaldo apologised for failing to greet supporters after the Norway match and for leaving his teammates, accepting that his captaincy made his conduct more serious.
“The consequences of my actions must be assessed and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation,” he said.
Despite the rupture, Ronaldo said he was not limiting his international ambitions to a farewell appearance.
“If I’m physically fit, playing for my club – scoring goals, I hope – after serving whatever suspension is imposed on me, I’ll be available, as I’ve always been until now, to compete and win for our national team,” he added.
(Aljazeera)
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Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as India captain
Harmanpreet Kaur, who led India to their first women’s global title at last year’s ODI World Cup, has stepped down as captain from all three international formats. She announced her decision via an Instagram post on Tuesday morning. Having given up the captaincy and left the team in a “good place”, she has said she’s now “ready to play for the love of the game again”.
Harmanpreet, 37, led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. Her last act as captain was leading India to their second successive Asian Games gold medal, in Nisshin last month.
The decision came a day after Harmanpreet, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar met BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in Guwahati to discuss the roadmap of the women’s team going forward.
“This is not an easy decision,” Harmanpreet wrote. “It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices, and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
“I have given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket – my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions. There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first.
“As a captain, I have had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that were not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost. But every decision I made was with one intention – to make this TEAM better and to give other players the opportunity to grow, believe in themselves and become the best versions of themselves.”
Murmurs about a possible change in captaincy had been on for a while, especially after India’s second successive group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup in June this year. The selection committee, chaired by Amita Sharma, is understood to have been divided, but Harmanpreet had indicated a desire to lead India at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions , but also with PEACE,” Harmanpreet said. “Because I genuinely believe My team is in a good place. A team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am incredibly excited to watch and be a part of.
“I feel I have done my duty. I gave this team everything I had. I carried the responsibility with pride, and I will always be grateful for the privilege of leading Indian women’s cricket.
“Now, it is time for me to turn the page. Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will. Thank you to every teammate, coach, support staff, management , BCCI , family members every single fan who stood by me through the highs and lows.”
The noise for Smriti Mandhana to take over has been getting louder in recent months. In the past six months, Mandhana has been vocal about her readiness for the top job, and has given evidence of her credentials by leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to twin WPL titles (in 2024 and 2026).
Harmanpreet first captained the T20I team in 2012, but it wasn’t until after India’s group-stage exit from their home T20 World Cup in 2016 that she was considered a serious candidate for the role.
In 2018, she led the team to the T20 World Cup semi-finals in the Caribbean after having taken over the role in a full-time capacity from Mithali Raj, and followed it up with a runners-up finish at the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020.
Harmanpreet’s stepping down as India captain will not, however, change her stance as far as playing the shortest format goes. She is expected to continue leading Mumbai Indians in the upcoming WPL edition as the team chases their third title.
[Cricinfo]
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