Sports
Leading lights of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

The measure of great players is the ability to perform on the biggest stage and in T20 cricket, it does not come any bigger than the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Over the course of the previous six editions, there have been many stunning individual performances.
Taken as a whole though, it is no surprise that the players who have performed the most consistently since 2007 are also among the very best players the game has seen.
So, as we prepare for the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, we take a look at 10 players who have had a huge impact on the history of the tournament with their consistent excellence:
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) – 39 wickets and 546 runs in 34 matches
The greatest wicket-taker in the history of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi is one of the poster boys of the format capable of having an impact with bat and ball.
His crowning achievement came in 2009 when he inspired Pakistan to the title, earning Player of the Match honours for his performance in the eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final.
In that game Afridi took one for 20 with a miserly spell before hammering an unbeaten 54 off 40 balls to see his side home.
His 39 wickets are the most of any player in the tournament, while he is just outside the top ten all-time runs scorers with 546, and only Tillakaratne Dilshan has played more than Afridi’s 34 matches.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 567 runs and 30 wickets in 25 matches
The only player on this list who has not reached at the least the semi-finals of the competition, it is mark of Shakib Al Hasan’s achievements that he has been so successful despite playing in a struggling side.
One of just eight men who will be playing in 2021 having also featured in the inaugural tournament, Shakib has been one of the great all-rounders in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
He joins Afridi as the only players to have scored at least 500 runs and taken 30 wickets in the tournament, and if his performances in England two years ago are anything to go by, his taste for the big occasion is only increasing.
Samuel Badree (West Indies) –24 wickets in 15 matches
Not quite as prolific as some players on this list, but West Indian spinner Samuel Badree had a remarkable impact on the competition between 2012 and 2016.
In tandem with Sunil Narine for the first two of those tournaments, Badree showed just how dangerous spinners can be in T20 cricket, opening the bowling for the West Indies.
His bowling average of 13.58 is the best in the tournament’s history, while an economy rate of 5.52 is second only to Narine.
When you consider those figures, it is no surprise that West Indies enjoyed great success during that period, with Badree crucial to the triumphs in 2012 and 2016.
AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 717 runs and 30 catches in 30 matches
AB de Villiers will go down as one of, if not South Africa’s greatest player across all three formats, and he certainly shone on the global stage in ICC Men’s T20 World Cups.
His 717 runs are good enough for fifth all time and of that top five, only Chris Gayle has a better strike rate than De Villiers’ 143.4.
Of course, the Proteas superstar offered more than just his batting. Whether it was as a wicket-keeper or just an outfielder, he influenced the game like few others.
De Villiers’ 23 catches as an outfielder are eight more than anyone else in the tournament, with seven more and a pair of stumpings when he had the gloves on.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 897 runs in 35 matches
The 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be the first tournament in which Tillakaratne Dilshan will not feature, having played more matches than anyone in the competition’s history.
The Sri Lankan great sits third all time in terms of runs scored (897) and also contributed to the addition of a new word to cricket’s lexicon, and a new shot to a batter’s armoury, with the ‘Dilscoop’ that he mastered in 2009.
He was outstanding in that tournament, including an unbeaten 96 in the semi-final against the West Indies as he made 317 runs to be named Player of the Tournament. The fact that Pakistan removed him for a duck is probably a big factor in why Sri Lanka lost the final.
Chris Gayle (West Indies) –920 runs in 28 matches
The man born to play T20 cricket, Chris Gayle has made the format his own and ‘The Universe Boss’ will look to make it a hat-trick of titles in the UAE and Oman.
Curiously, Gayle has scored three and four in the two finals he has played so far, but the Windies have won them both anyway.
In the other 26 matches he has played, he has racked up 913 runs, second only to Mahela Jayawardene. By the end of the 2021 tournament, Gayle will hope to have joined Jayawardene in the 1000-run club.
As destructive as they come, Gayle has smashed 60 sixes in the tournament, nearly double the next most from Yuvraj Singh with 33, and is the only player to have notched two ICC Men’s T20 World Cup centuries.
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 1016 runs in 31 matches
No-one has scored more runs at ICC Men’s T20 World Cups than Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene, the only player to have topped 1000 runs in the tournament.
He played in every competition from 2007 to 2014, bowing out in style as he helped Sri Lanka claim the title in his final appearance.
In that match he made a run-a-ball 24 as Sri Lanka chased down India’s total of 130/4 to win the tournament for the first time, becoming the first player to make it four figures in the process.
Among other highlights, he enjoyed a purple patch at the 2010 T20 World Cup when he scored 81, 100 and 98 not out in three successive innings as Sri Lanka reached the semi-finals.
Virat Kohli (India) – 777 runs in 16 matches
The list of candidates for the best player never to have won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup starts and ends with Virat Kohli. The India skipper averages an absurd 86.33 in the 16 matches he has played.
With a half-century in more than half his innings, Kohli has been as consistent a player as the tournament has seen.
He has been named Player of the Tournament in each of the last two editions of the competition, averaging more than 100 in both editions, while his lowest score in a knockout game is the 72 not out he scored against South Africa in a semi-final win in 2014.
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) – 38 wickets in 31 matches
The most prolific wicket-taker in the history of T20 internationals, Lasith Malinga is second only to Shahid Afridi at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The master of the yorker, Malinga was the ultimate death bowler, capable of crushing toes and splaying wickets in the deciding moments of matches.
It is also a testament to his importance within the Sri Lankan team that Malinga was captain of the side that won the title in 2014, in a squad featuring the likes of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
And even in a match where he did not take a wicket, the way Malinga restricted India to just 11 runs from overs 18 and 20 of their innings in the final, was crucial to the eventual six-wicket success.
Kevin Pietersen (England) – 580 runs in 15 matches
In the vein of Samuel Badree, Kevin Pietersen’s influence on the tournament was relatively short, but his star shone incredibly bright.
The driving force behind England’s march to glory in 2010 in the Caribbean, Pietersen’s 580 runs in just 15 innings is a phenomenal return.
Only Kohli and Mike Hussey average more than Pietersen’s 44.61 by players with at least ten innings, and his strike-rate of 148.33 is the best of anyone in the top ten all-time run scorers.
He also has the silverware to go with it – being named Player of the Tournament as an aggressive England side powered their way to the title.
He scored 248 runs in that tournament, capping off a run of three editions in which he was England’s most devastating batter.
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Australia surge to clinical 2-0 series victory

Steven Smith completed an outstanding series at the helm with his 200th Test catch, but he wasn’t needed with the bat as Australia clinically sealed a rare series victory in Asia early on day four.
After wrapping up Sri Lanka’s second innings within the opening 20 minutes of the day’s play, Australia only lost opener Travis Head in pursuit of the 75-run victory target to win the second Test by nine wickets and sweep the series 2-0.
Usman Khawaja who set the tone with a double century in the first Test, finished unbeaten on 27 while Marnus Labuschagne made a fluent 26 not out in a confidence boost with his place in the side attracting some scrutiny.
Frontline spinners Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon claimed four wickets apiece in Sri Lanka’s second innings to cap their brilliant series. They combined to take 30 of the 40 Sri Lankan wickets in the series.
It was Australia’s first Test series victory in Sri Lanka since 2011 having lost four of five matches across the 2016 and 2022 tours. Australia’s only other series victory in Asia since 2011 was in Pakistan three years ago.
The only concern for Australia will be the fitness of Smith, who looked sore in the field in what might be an aggravation of an elbow injury that he suffered ahead of the series in the BBL. But he remained on the field and was padded to bat.
Sri Lanka’s hopes of setting a tricky chase rested entirely with Kusal Mendis , who had raced to 48 in a counterattack late on day three. Resuming at 211 for 8 with a lead of 54, Sri Lanka promoted Lahiru Kumara to No. 10 after he survived 26 balls in the first innings in a 33-run last wicket partnership with Mendis.
Mendis on his second delivery of the day’s play reached his second half-century of the match, but he fell two balls later to vicious bounce from Lyon as a top-edge ballooned to fine-leg where Smith became the first Australian to claim 200 Test catches.
With Sri Lanka’s hopes dashed, the only remaining interest centered on whether Kuhnemann or Lyon would finish with a five-wicket haul. Lyon had two big lbw shouts on Nishan Peiris turned down by umpire Adrian Holdstock as Australia reviewed unsuccessfully.
Lyon’s frustrations grew after Kumara edged low down to Beau Webster at second slip only for replays to show it didn’t carry. Webster took it upon himself to end the innings when – just like late on day three – he unfurled his offspin and clean bowled Kumara on his first delivery.
It completed a strong allround match for Webster, who showcased his versatility with the ball and he also took several sharp catches.
Desperately needing early wickets, skipper Dhananjaya de Silva went straight to his offspinners and Peiris produced sharp spin, but Head pounced when the bowlers missed their lengths.
After a nervous start, Head whacked Ramesh Mendis down the ground before Khawaja hit a couple of boundaries as Australia started to cruise. De Silva had to quickly resort to left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who promptly dismissed Head off the top-edge.
With just 37 runs needed, there wasn’t a lot to gain for Labuschagne who had missed out in this series amid a century drought stretching back to the 2023 Ashes.
He eased his nerves with a superb drive to the boundary and he whacked another off Jayasuriya to bring up Australia’s 50. After a tough tour, Labuschagne had the satisfaction of hitting the winning run as Australia celebrated their first clean sweep in Asia since beating Bangladesh 2-0 in 2006.
Contests between the teams in Sri Lanka had been traditionally competitive, but Australia flipped the script with consecutive ruthless performances that felt out of the Steve Waugh era.
Their selections worked well and Australia had contributions across the board with four centurions and an attack that was all over Sri Lanka’s struggling batting-order.
Lone quick Mitchell built on his outstanding record in Sri Lanka, while Kuhnemann claimed a series-high 16 wickets at 17.18 to prove why he has been deemed so valuable in these conditions. He also showed plenty of grit to play through a sore thumb he injured in a BBL game on January 16.
After having little to do during the seam-dominated India-series, Lyon as expected shouldered plenty of responsibility and finished with 14 wickets at 22.5.
But this battle for the Warne-Muraliduran Trophy will be remembered for stand-in skipper Smith. He issued a reminder on his mastery in Asian conditions with brilliant back-to-back tons as his renaissance continues. Smith led superbly in the absence of Pat Cummins with his tactical nous coming to the fore as he made all the right moves in the field.
In contrast, Sri Lanka were bitterly disappointing in a sad end for retiring opener Dimuth Karunaratne as they slumped to their fourth straight Test defeat.
Brief scores:
Australia 414 (Carey 156, Smith 131, Jayasuriya 5-151) and 75 for 1 (Khawaja 27*, Labuschagne 26*) beat Sri Lanka 257 (Kusal 85, Chandimal 74, Starc 3-37) & 231 (Mathews 76, Kusal 50, Kuhnemann 4-63, Lyon 4-84) by 9 wickets
(Cricinfo)
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Yared Nuguse breaks world indoor mile record in New York

Little more than an hour after Grant Fisher’s historic performance in the 3000m, Yared Nuguse made history of his own at the Millrose Games, winning the Wanamaker Mile in a world record of 3:46.63* at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on Saturday (8).
Just hours before the meeting began, world champion Josh Kerr announced his withdrawal from the race due to illness. But despite the Briton’s absence, the race produced a fitting climax to the world’s leading indoor one-day meeting.
Abe Alvarado paced the field through 1000m in 2:20.49, then Nuguse maintained the tempo with world road mile champion Hobbs Kessler tucked right behind. After passing through 1500m in 3:31.75, a significant improvement on his own North American indoor record, Nuguse dug deep to hold on to victory in 3:46.63. Kessler took second place in 3:46.90, also inside Yomif Kejelcha’s world indoor record of 3:47.01.
In third, Australia’s Cam Myers set a world U20 record of 3:47.48* with France’s Azeddine Habz setting a national indoor record of 3:47.56 in fourth.
[*Subject to the usual ratification procedure]
[World Athletics]
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Grant Fisher breaks world indoor 3000m record in New York

USA’s Grant Fisher broke the world indoor 3000m record at the Millrose Games, clocking 7:22.91* at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on Saturday (8).
The double Olympic bronze medalist had been locked in a battle with Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker for most of the way. They passed through the first 1000m in 2:29.08, then Fisher led through 2000m in 4:58.01 before Hocker hit the front with three laps to go.
Fisher stayed close behind, then kicked hard off the final bend to win in 7:22.91, improving on Lamecha Girma’s world indoor record of 7:23.81. Hocker finished second in 7:23.14, also inside Girma’s record.
[*Subject to the usual ratification procedure]
[World Athletics]
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