Latest News
Pooran 98, McCoy three-for blow Afghanistan away
It’s been a World Cup for the bowlers, but Nicholas Pooran set the tone early for a dominant batting display from West Indies as they thrashed Afghanistan to finish the group stage with a perfect record. He tore into Azmatullah Omarzai in the powerplay, who leaked a world record 36 runs in an over. And that was a blow Afghanistan never quite recovered from.
Pooran’s 98 off just 53 balls helped West Indies to 218 for 5, which was 104 too many for Afghanistan in the last group match of the T20 World Cup 2024. The result had little bearing on the Super Eight seedings that were pre-decided with both teams already cementing their spots. Afghanistan were blown away in the chase to be dismissed for 114, with all the five bowlers the hosts used sharing the spoils.
It was the highest total for West Indies in men’s T20 World Cups, and Pooran, who hit eight sixes in his stay, surpassed Chris Gayle to become the leading six hitter for them in T20Is.
He has a stand named after him at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, and Johnson Charles did not disappoint. He had two ducks and a 44 heading into the game, and understandably, was tentative at the start of his innings. Yet he started with a flurry of fours, mostly via outside edges – beating short third to either side in the second over and then getting one over point in the third.
Anything with pace, he confidently dealt with. However, Naveen-ul-Haq’s change of pace was too much to contend with, and he chipped one to cover after a duel that saw a dropped chance.
Two balls were all Pooran needed to get his eyes in on a belter of a pitch in Gros Islet. He signaled his arrival with arecord 36 run over against Azmatullah Omarzai, in which he hit three sixes and two fours, including one off a no-ball. Afghanistan generally turn to Mujeeb Ur Rahman for control in the powerplay. But with him out injured, Rashid Khan had to bring himself on in the powerplay for the first time this T20 World Cup. He was welcomed with a couple of fours as West Indies finished the powerplay on 92 for 1, the highest score in the first six overs in men’s T20 World Cups.
At 85 for 1 in five overs, West Indies looked set to bring back a template we were so used to in IPL 2024 – scores around and over 250. But Rashid and his spin-twin Noor Ahmad used the slight purchase from the surface to tie the batters down. Both varied the legbreak and googly, and also the lengths to keep the batters guessing. The bounce from the surface also came to their aid. As a result, only one four and three sixes – two of them by Shai Hope against Mohammad Nabi – came in the middle phase (overs 7 to 16), where West Indies scored only 66 and lost two wickets.
The 17th over almost woke up the sleeping giant Pooran, who got his first four since the powerplay when Gulbadin Naib misfielded one at sweeper cover. He then tore into Rashid, who had figures of 0 for 21 heading into his last over, in the 18th. Pooran stayed deep in the crease and often cleared his front leg in a bid to convert the good length deliveries that Rashid generally bowls.
Pooran’s leg side was the longer boundary, and Rashid bowling full only helped his cause. He struck three sixes and a four in the over to take 24 off it, decisively turning the tide in the hosts’ favour. He couldn’t do much damage to Naib, who bowled a couple of superb overs for two wickets, using the slower ones to trick the batters. When Pooran clobbered back-to-back sixes in the last over off Naveen, he looked primed to get to a century, only to be denied by a direct throw from Omarzai from deep cover.
Coming into the match, Afghanistan’s middle order (Nos. 3 to 6) averaged a mere 19.71 with the openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran doing the heavy-lifting in the big wins against New Zealand and Uganda. Gurbaz fell early trying to take on powerplay enforcer Akeal Hosein, exposing the Afghanistan middle order in a tall chase.
Ibrahim managed to punish an erring Alzarri Joseph, hitting him for one four and two sixes in the first six overs. He also managed to get a few away from Hosein but could not keep down a languid flick off Obed McCoy – brought in for Romario Shepherd, who was home for the birth of his second child – to deep backward square leg.
Playing his first match in this T20 World Cup, McCoy then dismissed Najibullah Zadran a couple of balls later before knocking Nabi over to reduce Afghanistan to 63 for 5 inside the tenth over. Omarzai managed to strike a few lusty blows but Hosein, Gudakesh Motie and Andre Russell never let them get away.
As a result, West Indies registered their second biggest win in T20 World Cups (by runs) and head into the Super Eight stage with a clean slate, as if to say, “talk now!”
Brief scores:
West Indies 218 for 5 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 98, Johnson Charles 43, Shai Hope 25, Roveman Powell 26; Azmatullah Omarazi 1-41, Naveen ul-Haq 1-41, Gulbadin Naib 2-14) beat Afghanistan 114 in 16.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 38, Azmatullah Omarazi 23; Akeal Hossein 2-21, Andre Rusell 1-17, Alzarri Joseph 1-30, Gudakesh Motie 2-28, Obed McCoy 3-14) by 104 runs
[Cricinfo]
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 22 Feb 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended twelve (12) Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, in the sea area south of Mannar.
The seized boat and the Indian fishermen were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Dikovita for onward legal proceedings.
Mexico has deployed thousands of soldiers to bolster security after a wave of violence erupted following the death of a powerful drug lord, the country’s security minister has said.
Defence Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said an extra 2,500 soldiers had been sent to western Mexico on Monday, with the government saying about 9,500 troops have been deployed overall since Sunday.
At least 20 states have seen unrest since Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes – better known as “El Mencho” – died in custody on Sunday shortly after being captured by Mexican special forces in Jalisco state.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is one of Mexico’s most feared criminal organisations and its leader was the country’s most wanted man.
At least 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard have died in Jalisco state since the violence erupted, the country’s security minister said.
El Mencho was captured after forces tracked down a romantic partner he was meeting, according to defence secretary Trevilla.
The drug lord was was seriously injured in a firefight between his bodyguards and the military commandos deployed to capture him, and he died while the military was transporting him from the town of Tapalpa to the capital, Mexico City.
At least six of El Mencho’s security guards were also killed in the operation, while three members of the Mexican military were injured, the defence ministry said.
Security secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said a prison guard, a member of the state prosecutor’s office and 30 members of El Mencho’s criminal organisation were killed in the unrest since his death, according to the AFP news agency.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has praised the army’s operation that led to El Mencho’s death and said her priority is to guarantee peace and security across the country.
“There is calm, there is government, there are armed forces and there is a lot of co-ordination,” Sheinbaum said.
As news of El Mencho’s death spread, members of his cartel launched attacks in many towns and cities where the CJGN is active.
In some towns, they blocked roads by throwing spikes and nails on to the tarmac – in others, they commandeered buses and other vehicles then torched them in the middle of the road.
Sheinbaum said that the road blocks had been cleared by Monday morning.
However, dozens of banks and local businesses have been damaged after they were set alight by cartel members.
[BBC]
West Indies went on an unfettered big-hitting spree at the Wankhede Stadium, crushing Zimbabwe by 107 runs and sounding out a warning to other title-contenders in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Led by turbo-charged fifties from Shimron Hetmyer and Rowman Powell, West Indies racked up 254 for 6 – the second highest total at a men’s T20 World Cup – including 19 sixes. No team has hit more sixes in an innings in the history of the competition.
In response, Zimbabwe were all out for only 147, suffering their first loss in this tournament after topping Group B in the lead-up to the Super Eight.
It was Hetmyer, who started the carnage with a 19-ball half-century before former captain Powell and the rest of the middle order joined the six-hitting party. Hetmyer, Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder all kept launching the ball into the night sky and made it look ridiculously easy, like West Indies’ hitters did in 2012 and 2016.
After missing Zimbabwe’s group-stage fixtures against Australia and Sri Lanka with injury, left-arm quick Richard Ngarava marked his return by having Brandon King holing out to long leg for 9 off 12 balls with a 101kph slower ball. Then, in the final over of the powerplay, Craig Evans dug an offcutter into the pitch and had Shai Hope caught spectacularly by Brian Bennett in the outfield for 14 off 12 balls.
Despite losing two wickets, West Indies scored 55 runs in their first six overs, with Hetmyer responsible for 20 of those. Hetmyer was just getting started at No. 3, a new(ish) role for him in this T20 World Cup after spending the previous edition on the bench.
Identified by coach Daren Sammy as a batter who could perform Nicholas Pooran’s role, Hetmyer aced it on Monday. He was particularly severe on spin, cracking Graeme Cremer and Sikandar Raza for 56 off 17 balls, with all seven of his sixes coming against spin. Hetmyer’s strike rate of 329.41 is the second-highest among batters to have scored 50-plus runs against spinners in a men’s T20I, where ball-by-ball data is available.
Along the way, Hetmyer charged to a 19-ball half-century, toppling his own record for West Indies’ fastest fifty at a men’s T20 World Cup. Earlier in this tournament, Hetmyer had clubbed a 22-ball fifty against Scotland in Kolkata.
Hetmyer was also aided by Zimbabwe’s fielding lapses. Tashinga Musekiwa dropped Hetmyer on 9 and then again on 70. Hetmyer added 15 to his tally after the second reprieve before Bennett eventually held onto a chance in the deep.
But the momentum seamlessly switched from one West Indies batter to another. Powell, who was on 15 off 17 balls at one point, teed off when he imperiously whipped Evans over midwicket. He hit three more sixes, including a 106-metre monster over extra-cover off part-time seamer Dion Myers in the 13th over. He pressed on to bring up a 29-ball fifty.
In the next over, Powell drilled one back so fiercely that the ball burst through the hands of Raza and left him needing attention from the physio. Raza even had to spend some time off the field, with Ngarava, the Test captain, standing in for him in the closing stages of the first innings.
Though Powell departed for 59, with Musekiwa getting third-time lucky and clinging onto a catch, electric cameos from Rutherford, Shepherd and Holder powered West Indies past 250.
Zimbabwe need a strong start to stay in the game. However, that was not to be and by the end of three overs, they were three down. Gudakesh Motie then precipitated Zimbabwe’s collapse with his career-best T20I figures of 4 for 28.
Having hurt his finger in the first innings, Raza (27 off 20 balls) came out to bat but only flickered briefly before Motie castled him with a delightful delivery that pitched on middle and ripped away to hit off.
Akeal Hosein’s dismissal of Bennett with his stock ball that drifted in towards middle and leg and turned away to hit off was another contender for the ball of the day.
The end was nigh for Zimbabwe when they slumped to 103 for 9 in the 15th over, but Evans delayed it with a 21-ball 43. Forde wrapped up the win – West Indies’ second biggest in terms of runs – when he had Evans top-edging a catch to short third in the 18th over.
Brief scores:
West Indies 254 for 6 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 14, Shimron Hetmyer 85, Rovman Powell 59, Sherfane Rutherford 31, Romario Shepherd 21, Jason Holder 13; Richard Ngarava 2-47, Blessing Muzarabani 2-42, Brad Evans 1-46, Graeme Cremer 1-38) beat Zimbabwe 147 in 17.4 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 14, Brad Evans 43, Dion Myers 28, Sikandar Raza 27, Tony Munyonga 14; Gudakesh Motie 4-28, Akeal Hosein 3-28, Matthew Forde 2-27, Jason Holder 1-25) by 107 runs
[Cricinfo]
Navy seize an Indian fishing boat poaching in Mannar seas
Fair weather will prevail except for showers in the Southern province and in Rathnapura, Monaragala and Kaluthara districts after 2.00 p.m
Families of those sentenced to death for killing MP Atukorale seek AKD’s intervention
OPV leaves Baltimore, expected in Colombo in May
Unions sound alarm over coal procurement and power sector restructuring
MAS Group moving to India: CP asks NPP govt. to act
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features2 days agoWhy does the state threaten Its people with yet another anti-terror law?
-
Features2 days agoVictor Melder turns 90: Railwayman and bibliophile extraordinary
-
Features2 days agoReconciliation, Mood of the Nation and the NPP Government
-
Features1 day agoLOVEABLE BUT LETHAL: When four-legged stars remind us of a silent killer
-
Features2 days agoVictor, the Friend of the Foreign Press
-
Latest News4 days agoNew Zealand meet familiar opponents Pakistan at spin-friendly Premadasa
-
Latest News4 days agoTariffs ruling is major blow to Trump’s second-term agenda
-
Latest News4 days agoECB push back at Pakistan ‘shadow-ban’ reports ahead of Hundred auction