Al Amerat: Bangladesh kept their hopes of advancing to Super 12s stage alive with a nervy 26-run win over co-hosts Oman in their Group B match of the T20 World Cup here on Tuesday.

Opener Mohammad Naim struck a fine half-century to help Bangladesh set a 154-run target before bowlers led by star pacer Mustafizur Rahman (4/36) restricted Oman to 127 for 9.

Both Oman and Bangladesh now have one win each, and will be vying for the only remaining spot to qualify for the Super 12 stage. Scotland, who beat Papua New Guinea earlier in the day, have already qualified from the group.

While Oman will take on Scotland, Bangladesh next play Papua New Guinea.

Chasing a challenging target, Ludhiana-born Jatinder Singh (40 off 33) provided a solid start for Oman alongside Kashyap Prajapati (21) but the other batters struggled.

Like Oman, Bangladesh were also guilty of dropping catches. But under tremendous pressure, they held their nerves and thanks to some astute captaincy by skipper Mahmudullah and the spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Mahedi Hasan they were able to make a strong comeback.

Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman took four wickets.

Oman needed 54 runs in the last five overs. But with the boundaries drying up and the required run rate continuously increasing, Oman batters became desperate and went for the big shots, losing their wickets in the process.

Shakib, who starred with the bat also pitched in with the ball, ending with impressive figures of 3/28 while Mahedi Hassan (1/14) and Mohammad Saifuddin (1/16) took a wicket each.

Opting to bat in a must game win, Bangladesh, who lost their tournament opener to Scotland, struggled to 29 for the loss of two wickets in the powerplay.

With their backs up against the wall, Naim, who hit 64 of 51 deliveries, and star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (42 off 29) shared an 81-run stand to give their side the much-needed momentum.

Dropped catches and sloppy fielding only added to the two batters’ increasing confidence.

While Fayyaz Butt, who played U-19 cricket for Pakistan, pulled off a stunning catch of his bowling to get rid of Mahedi Hasan for a duck, Oman were guilty of dropping as many as three catches.

Naim, playing his first game of the tournament, hit four maximums and three boundaries while Shakib’s innings was studded with six fours.

However, a brilliant piece of fielding that saw Aqib Ilyas effect Shakib’s run out that saw the spring return in Oman’s step.

The co-hosts seized the momentum, snaring six wickets while giving away 41 runs in the last five overs.

Pacers Fayyaz Butt (3/30), Kaleemullah (2/30) and Bilal Khan (3/18) shared eight wickets while left-arm spinner Zeeshan Maqsood (1/17) accounted for one.

DUBAI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni might be 40 but the legendary cricketer could indeed feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. CSK, also known as ‘Dad’s Army’, lifted their fourth IPL title on Friday after defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final by 27 runs.

Dhoni, one of the greatest captains to have played the game, said he still has not left behind his legacy, indicating that he might feature in next year’s IPL also. During the post-match presentation, when the broadcaster asked about the legacy Dhoni is leaving behind, the CSK skipper gave a cheeky reply. “Well, I still haven’t left behind (smiles).”

However, Dhoni also said that him playing for CSK would depend on what works best for the Chennai-based team. “It depends on BCCI with two new teams coming in. Well it’s not about me playing for CSK, it’s about what is best for CSK. The core group that can carry the team for 10 years. Now we need to see what is best,” said Dhoni.

The CSK skipper also said if any team deserved to win the IPL 2021 title it was KKR and also pointed out that the break helped the Eoin Morgan side.

“Before I start talking about CSK, it’s important I talk about KKR. For the position they were in after the first phase, it is very difficult to come back and do what they have done. If any team deserved to win the IPL this year, I feel it was KKR. I think the break helped them,” said Dhoni.

Speaking about CSK’s win, Dhoni said ” Coming to CSK we shuffled a few players, we used them in different ways. Important to take responsibility. I felt we had match-winners game after game. People who were in the form they ensured they were scoring throughout the tournament and others were chipping in.”

“Every final is special. Yes, we are the most consistent team looking at the stats but we have also lost finals. Not letting the opposition in is something we consciously wanted to improve. I hope CSK in the coming years will be known for that.

“We don’t really talk a lot. It’s more one on one. Our practice sessions are more like a meeting session also. People are more open that way. The moment you talk in a team room there is a bit of pressure,” Dhoni added.

SHARJAH: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener Venkatesh Iyer said he was just playing his own game and trying to analyze the situation in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Needing 136 runs to win, KKR were off to a brisk start, courtesy Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer. The duo cashed in on all the scoring opportunities and took KKR to 51/0 in the first six overs. But they lost the plot in the closing stages and it took Tripathi’s six off Ashwin in the final over to take KKR over the line.

In a video posted on the IPL website, Iyer interacted with the former Australian cricketer and KKR’s chief mentor David Hussey.

“I wasn’t chasing 136, I just went out there to bat. I just wanted to play first six overs and then see what the situation is,” said the KKR opener.

KKR had won only two games in the first leg of the IPL in India but the side came stronger in the second leg in UAE and won five out of the seven games.

“The brand of cricket that the KKR is playing and by KKR I just don’t mean the cricketers who are playing out there but the entire management,” said Iyer after being asked by Hussey about the biggest turn-around for the team.

“The way we are thinking, the way we are going about the things that are the real turn around for us. The intent we are showing not just on the field but off the field is that what brought us here,” he added.

Iyer also said that he will not treat the final as the big game and will try to give his best.

“I will just rest up tomorrow (Thursday) and I am not going to treat it as a final or big game. I will just play my game and give my best and that’s what the entire team is going to do,” said Iyer.

KKR has set up the blockbuster final showdown against Chennai Super Kings, which will take place in Dubai on Friday.

DUBAI: Virat Kohli will never be able to understand the kind of impact he has had on Royal Challengers Bangalore while leading the side, said AB de Villiers of his longstanding IPL teammate, in a rich tribute.

“I have been here through all the years with Virat as captain and I think the word that comes to mind is ‘grateful’. We were very lucky to have had you at the front,” de Villiers said in a video posted by the franchise.

“The way you captained this team has inspired everyone, certainly inspired me to become better as a player and a person. You have had a much bigger impact than you will ever understand, it has gone miles. There are stories that you don’t even hear of people’s lives that you have touched,” he said.

Since taking over as RCB’s captain in 2013, Kohli has led the team to the play-offs four times, including the last two seasons, and the final in 2016. Kohli led RCB in 140 matches, winning 66 and losing 70. Four games did not produce any results.

De Villiers said that Kohli’s contribution goes beyond his performance as a skipper or a batter. “I have known you on the field but away from it as well. You make people believe in themselves, which is much more important than winning a trophy. Which I still believe will come your way,” the versatile South African cricketer said.

During their eliminator against KKR, on-field umpire Virender Sharma came under fire from the RCB captain after a poor lbw decision during the Knight Riders innings. “You have done a great job, but that book is not finished yet. Whatever you have done for us, we won’t forget it. Thanks for all the memories, and I think some of the umpires will sleep a bit better, very happy for them,” de Villiers said on a lighter note, referring to that particular call by the umpire

Not the result we wanted but I am so proud of the character shown by the boys throughout the tournament. A disappointing end but we can hold our heads high. Thank you to all the fans, management & the support staff for your constant support On his part, Kohli thanked his teammates and said they can “hold their heads high”. “Not the result we wanted but I am so proud of the character shown by the boys throughout the tournament. A disappointing end but we can hold our heads high. Thank you to all the fans, management & the support staff for your constant support,” Kohli wrote on his Twitter handle.

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday pulled out of next year’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games’ hockey competition, citing COVID-19 concerns and UK’s discriminatory quarantine rules for travellers from the country, a day after England’s withdrawal from the junior men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar over similar reasons.

Hockey India President Gyanandro Ningombam communicated the federation’s decision to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra in a letter.

HI said it can’t risk sending its players to the UK, which has been one of the worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“You will appreciate that the Asian games is the Continental qualification event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and keeping the priority of the Asian Games in mind, Hockey India can not risk any members of the Indian teams contracting COVID-19 during the Commonwealth Games,” Ningombam wrote.

“Therefore, Hockey India will not be sending its men and women teams to Commonwealth Games 2022 and are informing you in advance to kindly notify the Organisers to identify reserve teams.”

The UK recently refused to recognise India’s COVID-19 vaccination certificates and imposed a 10-day hard quarantine on travellers from the country even if they were fully vaccinated.

The discrimination was prominently mentioned in Ningombam’s letter to the IOA President, who has issued instructions for co-ordination with the sport’s world governing body FIH for the details of the reserve teams.

Batra heads the FIH as well.

“Such discriminatory restrictions were not imposed on Indian athletes and officials during the recent Tokyo Olympic Games and this 10-day quarantine requirement for vaccinated sports persons will affect their performance,” Ningombam stated.

“We feel these restrictions are biased against India and term it as very unfortunate,” he said.

HI’s move comes a day after England pulled out of the junior World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar next month, citing a number of COVID-related concerns and taking “note” of the Indian government’s mandatory 10-day quarantine protocol for all UK nationals.

India imposed reciprocal curbs on all British nationals arriving in the country after UK’s steadfast refusal to reconsider its restrictions.

Under India’s new norms, all British nationals arriving here from the UK, irrespective of their vaccination status, will have to produce the result of the RT-PCR test done within 72 hours before travel.

They will also have to undertake two more RT-PCR tests, one on their arrival at the airport in India and the second one on Day 8 after arrival.

Both the Indian men’s and women’s teams reached the medal rounds in the 2018 Gold Coast CWG but lost to England in the bronze play-offs.

The men’s team was beaten 1-2 while the women team lost 0-6 to England.

The Birmingham CWG would have been first big event for both the teams after their inspirational performances at the Tokyo Games, where the men’s team won a bronze while the women finished a creditable fourth.

Dubai: Punjab Kings boosted their chances of making the IPL play-offs with a five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders as effective death over bowling and smart batting by skipper KL Rahul and Shahrukh Khan shaped their crucial victory in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.

Rahul scored 67 runs off 55 balls and shared a 70-run stand with fellow opener Mayank Agarwal (40), knocking off a 166-run target with three balls to spare.

Shahrukh produced an impactful 9-ball 22-run knock when it mattered and finished the match with a six.

Venkatesh Iyer hit a fluent 67 while Nitish Rana produced a fiery 31 off 18 balls before Punjab Kings managed to stop KKR at 165 for seven.

Invited to bat, the in-form KKR batsmen controlled the proceedings for a major part of their innings and had it not been some excellent death over spells by Mohammed Shami (1/23) and Arshdeep Singh (3/32), KKR would have got a bigger score on the board.

Iyer and Rahul Tripathi (34 off 26 balls) raised a 72-run stand, stroking the ball around with ease while Rana’s cameo was also crucial for KKR since the run-rate had taken a hit at that time after two quick wickets.

The Punjab batsmen did not set the field on fire at the start of the chase as all they could manage 46 runs in the powerplay but did not lose a wicket.

Of the two batsmen, it was Agarwal who was hitting the ball at a good a strike rate while Rahul was going a-run-a-ball.

Varun Chakravarthy separated the openers by having Agarwal caught at in extra cover by Eoin Morgan, though it was a fierce shot.

Nicholas Pooran (12) was dropped at 1 by Tripathi in the same region but Chakravarthy ensured that it wasn’t a costly miss as he dismissed the West Indian soon after.

Gripping the ball had become difficult for the bowlers due to the dew but Punjab batsmen were still happy working the ball around and getting an odd big shot in between.

Rahul raised his half-century with one such shot off a slower one from Southee when he cleared the square leg region.

KKR needed 45 runs from the final fiver overs. Aiden Markram (18) hit a gigantic six off Sunil Narine but was caught in the same over while Deepak Hooda (3) also perished soon.

Rahul seemed to have hit one straight to fielder but the third-umpire ruled him not out. He got out in the first ball of the final over but Shahrukh finished the job to calm a nervous dugout .

PBKS moved to fifth in the table with 10 points while KKR stayed in fourth with same number of points

Earlier, left-arm pacer Arshdeep has been a top performer for Punjab this season and he delivered again by cleaning up Shubhman Gill (7) with a peach of delivery that breached the defence of the batsman in the third over.

Iyer, who has been a revelation this season, continued his good run with some fluent drives on both sides of the wicket despite that the ball was stopping a bit before coming on to the bat.

The batsmen’s positive approach and lack of control over the line by the Punjab pacers meant that run-rate kept soaring for KKR.

The partnership was finally broken by spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who had Tripathi caught in the deep. The leg-spinner was also economical ending with figures of two for 22 in four overs.

Iyer completed his fifty with a single off Allen and then lofted the West Indian bowler for a six to raise team’s hundred in the 13th over.

Two quick wickets fell when Bishnoi got rid of Iyer, who went for a big shot, and Shami trapped rival skipper Eoin Morgan (2), who shuffled a bit towards the off side but missed the line of the dipping ball that caught him in front of the wicket.

New Delhi: Veteran India men’s hockey team striker SV Sunil on Friday announced his international retirement, bringing the curtains down on a 14-year-long career during which he was a part of the 2014 Asian Games gold-winning side.

Sunil’s decision to call time came a day after drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh and defender Birendra Lakra, who played starring roles in the Indian hockey team’s historic bronze medal-winning Tokyo Olympics campaign, announced their international retirements on Friday.

The 32-year-old Sunil, hailing from Karnataka, was not a part of the team that competed in the Tokyo Olympics. Sunil, said it was time for him to make way for younger players and help to build a winning team for the future. The senior player appeared in 264 India matches, striking 72 goals.

“… time to take a break. More than 14 years after I wore India colours for the first time, I have decided to make myself unavailable for the national camp which begins next week,” Sunil, who gew up playing hockey with a bamboo stick due to his family’s limited resources, said in a statement on his Twitter handle.

“It was not the easiest decision to make, but it was not the toughest either, given that I did not make it to the team for the Tokyo Games. The omission put a question mark on my future as a player, in the 11-a-side format.

“With the 2024 Paris Olympics three years away, I think, as a senior player it is important that I make way for youngsters and help in building a winning team for the future,” he added.

The Arjuna awardee from Somwarpet in Coorg made his international debut in 2007 at the Asia Cup which India won after beating Pakistan in the Final.

There was no looking back for the speedy striker after that and he was a part of India’s incredible rise in global hockey.

The two-time Olympian (2012 and 2016) remained a key player in the Indian forward-line for over a decade with fine performances.

He was in the Indian team that won gold in the 2011 Asian Champions Trophy and silver in the same event in 2012.

He also won gold and bronze medals in the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games respectively besides a gold in the Asia Cup 2017.

He played an instrumental role in the team’s historic silver medal wins at the 2016 and 2018 FIH Champions Trophy.

In his long career, Sunil also led the forward-line in 2015 World League Final where the team won a bronze Medal and he was also part of the team that won bronze in the same event in 2017 in Bhubaneswar.

He also has a silver medal from the Commonwealth Games 2014 to his credit.

Congratulating Sunil for his contribution to Indian hockey, Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam said, “SV Sunil has been an inspiration to an entire generation of young hockey players.

“His commitment to the game and discipline was unmatched and he has given Indian hockey some very memorable performances.”

Sunil said he will continue to be available to play the shorter form of the game (5-a-side hockey).

He said the gold in the 2014 Asian Games was the turning point of his career.

“I am grateful that I represented my country at two Olympic Games — in London in 2012 and in Rio in 2012.

Gold Coast: Flamboyant opener Smriti Mandhana shattered a few records en route to slamming a magnificent maiden Test century as India progressed to 276/5 in the second day’s opening session of the day/night match against Australia here on Friday.

The 25-year-old Mandhana became the first Indian woman to hit a century in day-night Tests and also the first from the country to reach three figures in the game’s traditional format on the Australian soil.

Mandhana made 127 off 216 balls with the help of 22 boundaries and a six at the Carrara Oval, and added an Indian record of 102 runs in Australia for the second wicket with Punam Raut (36), continuing the good work after putting on 93 with Shafali Verma on a rain-marred opening day.

She brought her century with a short-arm pull shot off Ellysse Perry in the 52nd over.

Mandhana wouldn’t have added to her overnight score of 80 in the second over of Day 2 but Perry overstepped. Replays showed that the catch too might have been debatable.

The India opener, however, overcame the early jitters and went about her business in a professional manner while playing some lovely shots, including a magnificent straight drive off Annabel Sutherland.

She looked set for more but was caught at short mid-off off the bowling Ash Gardner, after playing an uppish drive.

Raut walked off after a caught behind appeal despite the umpire not entertaining Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning’s loud shouts.

Brief scores:

India 1st innings: 276/5 in 101.5 overs (Smriti Mandhana 127; Sophie Molineux 2/28).