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Suryakumar and Arshdeep the architects of hard-fought India win
USA had several things going against them.
The conditions: Before today, they’d never played at Nassau County Stadium; this was India’s fourth game at the venue.
Personnel: Monank Patel, the designated captain, was out injured.
The toss: Rohit Sharma called correctly and asked USA to bat in seaming conditions.
Experience: A motley crew with day jobs against cricketing royalty.
It had all the makings of a one-sided fare. Except, it was anything but.
At one stage, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma both dismissed by Saurabh Netravalkar and India 15 for 2 in the chase of 111, USA dared to dream.
When Rishabh Pant was castled by Ali Khan, thirty-thousand screaming fans, many of them Indian-Americans, gave more wings to those dreams.
This was now USA’s game to lose.
But in Suriyakumar Yadav, India had a crisis man who bailed them out of choppy waters. He was helped along by Shivam Dube during the course of a half-century stand that proved to be a game-changer.
India are now through to the Super Eights, but USA are still very much masters of their own fate; a win over Ireland, even a washout will see them through, ahead of Pakistan whom they famously beat in a Super Over thriller last week.
USA were bowling cutters into the pitch. Suryakumar was struggling to hit the ball off the square, and was trying to manufacture strokes. Most times, it comes off. Here, it wasn’t.
An over after nearly getting bowled trying to sweep Corey Anderson off his length, he tried to open the bat face to play his trademark loft, only to slice the ball high. Saurabh Netravalkar circled under it after doing exceedingly well to get to the ball running back from short third, but couldn’t hold on to the chance. The superhero who could not put a foot wrong until then was human, after all.
The ball that felled Kohli in the first over was a dream delivery. The batter nicking off with a perfect away-going delivery that had him jabbing. It was only Kohli’s second golden duck in T20Is.
The ball that got Rohit was somewhat similar. Except it was a lot closer to the stumps and had Rohit turning the face of the bat to take the leading edge. At mid-off, Harmeet Singh, Rohit’s school junior by a few years, ran back and held on.
India were shell-shocked at 15 for 2, which soon became 44 for 3 when Rishabh Pant was out to one that skidded low and through his defence.
It was almost as if the reprieve of Suryakumar deflated USA. Suddenly, Aaron Jones was switching fields every ball, running up to have a chat between deliveries, all of it playing into the hands of the batters. Twice, USA were warned about delaying the game by not beginning their next over within their 60-second allowance. When they erred for a third time, the umpires awarded five penalty runs to India.
From 35 off 30, India now needed a run-a-ball 30. It didn’t matter then that Dube had at one point been struggling on 5 off 14, or that Suryakumar was far from his 360-degree mode.
In the 17th over, India truly broke the stranglehold when Suryakumar picked Shadley van Schalkwyk’s medium pace for a lofted six over extra cover and a trademark flick over his shoulder for four off back-to-back deliveries.
Off the first ball of the 19th, he got to a 49-ball half-century. The winning runs were hit one legitimate delivery later when Dube dug out a yorker-length delivery to long-off. It could have so easily been another knock that had Dube’s self-doubts spiralling, but that he dug in to remain unbeaten on 31 in what was a hard scrap should give him lot of confidence.
The day began with a two-wicket opening over in which Arshdeep Singh swung the ball back in. Shayan Jahangir, replacing Monank Patel, was out lbw, and Andries Gous picked out mid-off attempting to pull a skiddy short ball.
It wasn’t until Nitish Kumar and Corey Anderson added 25 off 18 heading into the final overs that USA had some injection of momentum that gave them a chance of getting towards 120.
However, overs 16-18 scuppered those plans. Hardik bowled a wicket-maiden in the 17th, dismissing Anderson for his second wicket, and Arshdeep had Harmeet Singh – who had top-edged Bumrah for a six to get off the mark – caught behind.
USA ended up with 110, which they’d look back at and wonder what could’ve been had they only got 10 more.
Brief scores:
India 111 for 3 in 18.2 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 50*, Shivam Dube 31*; Saurabh Netravalkar 2-18, Ali Khan 1-21) beat USA 110 for 8 in 20 overs (Nitish Kumar 27, Steven Taylor 24; Arshdeep Singh 4-09, Hardik Pandya 2-14, Axar Patel 1-25) by seven wickets
(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’
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