In today’s cricket news, learn more about how India has advanced to the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup after defeating Ireland by five runs using the Duckworth Lewis Stern method. Meanwhile, David Warner and Josh Hazlewood are poised to follow captain Pat Cummins in coming home from India, worsening the situation for the Australian Test team. Lastly, Scotland cricket players declined to shake hands with Nepal spin bowler Sandeep Lamichhane following their three-wicket loss to Nepal.
India Advances to Semi-finals After DLS Win Against Ireland
Original Source: Women’s T20 World Cup: India qualify for semi-finals after DLS win over Ireland
India scored 155-6 after batting first owing to Smriti Mandhana’s 87 off 56 balls.
Shafali Verma (24 off29) and Harmanpreet Kaur (13 off20) supported India’s opener.
Renula Thakur bowled Orla Predergast for a duck and Jemimah Rodrigues ran Amy Hunter out in the first over of Ireland’s reply.
Then Gaby Lewis (32 not out off 25) and Laura Delany (17 not out off 20) rebuilt the score as Ireland reached 54-2 after 8.2 overs before rain suspended play.
With the covers on and the DLS par score at 59, Ireland fell five runs shy of a surprise win.
When Ireland’s fielding woes continued, Mandhana, South Africa’s highest tournament run-scorer, was dropped four times.
England almost through as group winners
South Africa can advance to the semi-finals if they overcome Bangladesh.
New Zealand would advance in second place if the Proteas lost.
Ireland was already out from the T20 World Cup after losing their first three games, but a win would have kept India’s qualification hopes alive.
Yet Monday’s outcome guarantees India a position in the semi-finals and hopes that Pakistan can beat England to claim top spot.
Heather Knight’s team leads on net run-rate with England and India tied on six points.
England know a win would qualify them as group champions, but a loss and significant run-rate swing would mean second place and a semi-final against perennial winners Australia.
before tomorrow’s Group 2 final between Pakistan and England.
That was tough with the first 30 balls.
Player of the match Smriti Mandhana said: “My toughest pitch. Wind made it worse.
“I felt I’d forgotten how to bat after the first 30 balls.
“I don’t know if that was the greatest preparation, but it’s wonderful to score a few runs coming into the semis.”
With her 87 off 56, Mandhana was named player of the match.
Laura Delaney, Ireland captain: “We didn’t check the DLS score since the rain came out of nowhere.
“We were just attempting to form a cooperation and find any obstacles.
“Cricket Ireland has spent heavily and proved we can do more.
“Our growth continues. On the field, we wish to improve.
Laura Delany thinks Ireland can improve Semi-final is India’s “do-or-die” encounter
India’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said: “Our game was good. We needed Smriti’s runs. It was nice to see her today.
“We’ve worked hard for years, so it’s important.
“We all care about this match. We always relish playing them since it’s a do-or-die contest.”
Harmanpreet Kaur called the semi-final versus Australia “do or death.”
As India Tour Deteriorates, Star Aussie Pair to Join Cummins on Trip Home
Original Source: Star Aussie pair reportedly to join Cummins on flight home as India tour gets worse
David Warner and Josh Hazlewood will join Pat Cummins in coming home from India, making things worse for the Australian Test team.
Cummins will fly home due to a serious family illness before rejoining his teammates ahead of the third Test which begins on March 1.
After another humiliating loss in Delhi, the Australian players will rest for two days before training in Indore.
Two more Aussie stars will fly home with Cummins, further damaging the team.
Hazlewood has been ruled out after failing to recover from his Achilles injury.
News Corp believes Warner will be sent home to recover from a fractured elbow he suffered in the first innings of the second Test, while Nine reports Ashton Agar and Matt Renshaw may also be sent home.
Todd Murphy’s sore side hindered him in the second Test’s final innings, but Australian coach Andrew McDonald hopes he’ll be fully recovered for the third Test.
Better news: Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc will play in Indore.
Mitchell Swepson, who had his first child before the second Test, will return for the third Test.
On Sunday, Cummins said Australia’s batsmen strayed “away from their tactics” after relying too much on sweep drives in the six-wicket loss in Delhi.
The Tour has been a disaster for Cummins with the Australian captain facing a barrage of criticism from former Australian Test players for his leadership, attitude and personal performances.
Cummins was criticized for his brain snap that resulted in a golden duck in the second innings as Australia lost 8/28.
Australian legend Michael Hussey called the captain’s hit “awful.”
Fox Cricket’s Brendan Julian added, “That’s terrible. Pat Cummins was thinking what? First ball, I think he thought ‘I’m going to be positive’ and panicked.”
He was also slammed for going missing in India’s First Innings where the home team recovered from the brink of collapse with a bottom order fight back.
As captain and the lone fast bowler in the Test, Matthew Hayden wanted Cummins to bowl the challenging overs as the ball became soft in the final overs before the new ball.
Hayden said, “Pat Cummins’ overs right now.”
“Pat Cummins should bowl two or three explosive overs.”
Cummins’ India tour was always going to be his biggest captaincy test.
Australian cricket is looking to Cummins after the First Test loss and the Delhi second innings meltdown.
The Aussies are still in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, even though India has retained it for the fourth straight series.
Australia must avoid a 4-0 loss in India to reach the World Test Championship final in June.
If India whitewashes at home, Australia will cheer for the younger brother across the Tasman, as a 2-0 New Zealand home loss to Sri Lanka will qualify the seventh-ranked Sri Lankans for the final.
On a tough, low-bouncing New Delhi pitch, the tourists resumed on 61-1 but lost their remaining wickets in 90 minutes to fold for 113 in a dreadful morning session.
Ravindra Jadeja’s seven wickets ended Australia’s hopes as India seized a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Cummins was disappointed after his team’s second straight Test loss in three days.
“Some balls only have your name,” he added.
Therefore, I expect a review.
“Shot choice—did we do it right?”
Six of the 10 Australian batters, including Steve Smith and David Warner’s injured substitute Matt Renshaw, perished after attempting the sweep or reverse sweep as Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, who took three, wrecked havoc.
“I thought they bowled extremely well, it’s not easy out there,” Cummins told reporters.
“Every batter does it differently.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all rule.
“Unfortunately, a lot of us got out with kind of cross-batted shots, which might not be our ideal method.”
Australia posted a competitive 263 in the first innings with India coming one-run short of the total on Saturday in what had been a closely fought match.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said the sweep was “not a very good option” for the tourists.
“Stepping out to the spinners was probably safer,” he said.
I agree.
Cummins hopes “a little of a reset” will help his team and batsmen in the third Test in Indore, which begins on March 1.
“That’s quite an experienced change room, a number of the batters have scored runs in similar conditions, they found a solution.
“It’s a series to draw.”
Cummins hasn’t ruled David Warner out of the third Test despite his concussion in the first innings.
Davey is still hurting.
“We’ll manage and see how he does over the following three days.”
Scotland Players Refuse Sandeep Lamichhane’s Handshake
Original Source: Scotland players refuse to shake hands with Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane
After losing to Nepal by three wickets, Scotland cricketers declined to shake hands with spin spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, ESPNCricinfo reported.
The Scottish players slapped hands with every Nepal player except Lamichhane as a silent protest to the spinner’s ongoing involvement in the ICC’s Cricket World Cup League 2 series, which also includes Namibia, the report said. It said Lamichhane knew about the rally beforehand.
According to the report, Lamichhane, a former Nepal team captain, is out on bond despite sexual coercion charges.
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) overturned the player’s suspension and included him in a training camp before the series, prompting great outcry in Nepal.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Cricket Scotland was “informed of the reports questioning the legal status of Lamichhane” two days before Nepal named him in their series lineup. Cricket Scotland opposes all types of abuse in modern society. “The Cricket Association of Nepal and ICC will decide the player’s availability for these games,” it said.
Cricket Namibia had said that the board “strongly opposes all forms of gender-based violence, discrimination and abuse”.
Summary of Today’s Cricket Sports News
Overall, Smriti Mandhana scored a career-high 87 runs off 56 balls to help India set a target of 156 for Ireland. Despite this, Ireland ultimately fell five runs short on DLS due to the weather.
On the other hand, David Warner and Josh Hazlewood are expected to follow captain Pat Cummins in returning home from India, making an already terrible situation for the Australian Test team even worse. Because of a major sickness in his family, Pat Cummins will return home before the March 1 start of the third Test to rejoin his colleagues. Once the Australian players have recovered from their last devastating loss in Delhi, they will resume training in Indore.
Finally, as a silent protest against the inclusion of the spinner Lamichhane, the Scottish players slapped hands with every Nepali player in the ICC’s Cricket World Cup League 2 series excluding Namibia.