BENGALURU: A record 518 million Indian viewers watched the recently concluded men’s cricket World Cup matches on Walt Disney-owned television channels during the 48-day event, the entertainment firm said on Thursday.

Disney had bought digital and streaming rights to show the International Cricket Council’s tournaments in India from 2024 to 2027 by paying around $3 billion.

Its Hotstar streaming app set a concurrent viewership record of 59 million during the final match of the World Cup, the company said in a statement.

Record 1.25 million fans attended World Cup, says ICC

The numbers offer some relief for the Burbank-headquartered entertainment giant’s India unit, which is exploring options of finding a joint venture partner or selling its business.

It has offered free streaming of World Cup cricket on smartphones in India, part of a strategy to boost advertising revenue and offset the impact of a subscriber exodus.

BENGALURU: A record 1.25 million fans attended matches during the 13th edition of the World Cup, which concluded on Sunday with Australia beating hosts India for their sixth title, global body the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday.

A total of 1,250,307 fans watched the Oct. 5-Nov. 19 showpiece event from the stands, surpassing the previous mark of 1.016 million set at the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand.

While the early matches not involving runners-up India had plenty of empty seats in venues, overall spectator figures had already surpassed the one million mark with six games to go.

ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said the one-day international (ODI) tournament had been a “great success.”

ICC suspends Sri Lanka’s membership over government interference

“The staggering attendance demonstrates the enduring appeal of cricket and excitement the ODI format continues to offer,” Tetley said in a statement, adding that the tournament also broke multiple broadcast and digital viewership records.

“It has been an event that has not only entertained but also united cricket fans globally in a celebration of the sport.”

AHMEDABAD: India’s six-wicket loss to Australia in the final of the Cricket World Cup in Ahmedabad Sunday left tens of thousands of fans heartbroken and in frantic search of a new plan for the night ahead.

Having braved the long, colourful and festive queues for hours early Sunday to get into the ground, many started leaving the stadium in droves by the 35th over of Australia’s chase as the result became obvious.

The grand 132,000-seat arena is the world’s biggest cricket ground and named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The home team, which entered the final unbeaten and favourites to win a third title, could only set a below-par 241 target for Australia to chase.

“I am returning to my home in Mumbai now,” said Jine Shah, 40, who left the stadium when Australia still needed 49 runs to win their sixth World Cup title.

“I’d have stayed here and in the city if we were winning, but what’s the reason now?” he asked.

‘Want to sleep now’

Rajiv Kumar, 25, who planned to “celebrate through the night after India’s expected win”, couldn’t pinpoint what went wrong with the team.

“They have been so good throughout this tournament, the best, and I don’t know what happened today,” he said.

“I just want to go back to my hotel to sleep and not think of this now if possible,” Kumar added.

While thousands of Indian fans left their seats, Roelof Hugo, 51, a South African cricket fan from Paarl, stuck around for the final formalities.

Before this game “I didn’t think that anyone could defeat India” on their current form, Hugo told AFP.

Hugo felt that Australia’s bowling and fielding made the difference in the all-important game.

World Cup thrills cannot erase future ODI concerns

“We stayed back for the final even after” South Africa’s elimination “because India reached the finals and we wanted to see them win over Australia today,” he added.

Jacob Diaz, 33, from Arizona in the United States, watched his first cricket game with his friend Parvathi Subramanian, 33, and described it as a “good introduction to the game”.

“We would have stuck around at the stadium if the result was not a foregone conclusion. I expected India to play much better,” said Subramanian.

‘A big loss’

Outside the stadium, on the packed arterial roads, the mood was sombre and a far cry from the loud and excited atmosphere before the start of the match.

Thousands of fans paid over the odds for travel, hotels and tickets because of high demand.

One of many young groups of friends discussed if they still wanted to explore the city’s famous food stalls or return to their hotels for a quiet night.

“This is a big loss after the way we played over the last few weeks,” Surinder Singh from Mumbai said.

India, with its booming economy and cricket-crazy fans, is the financial powerhouse of the game but they last won the World Cup back in 2011.

“I don’t know what to do now,” Rajinder Singh, who came from Delhi told AFP.

“It feels so sad and empty as the World Cup has come to an end and we didn’t win it.”

AHMEDABAD: A World Cup that started with questions over the future of 50-over one-day internationals ended with doubts still being expressed about their worth outside the context of a showpiece event.

Australia’s six-wicket win over India in front of a 92,000 crowd at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium may have been a disappointingly one-sided final for home and neutral fans.

But the memory of several more dramatic contests earlier in the tournament was still vivid, with Afghanistan overwhelming defending champions England by 69 runs and non-Test nation the Netherlands defeating eventual semi-finalists South Africa.

One of the plus points of an ODI is that it allows a team to stage the kind of epic comeback more often associated with a Test match, while still producing a result in a day.

And while the high velocity, smash-and-grab Twenty20 game may be increasingly important to the finances of players and national boards alike, as evidenced by the lucrative Indian Premier League, it rarely produces drama to compete with cricket’s longer formats.

Nowhere was this more evident at this World Cup than during Australia’s remarkable pool play victory over Afghanistan when, on the brink of defeat at 91-7 chasing 292, a staggering double century from Glenn Maxwell secured an extraordinary three-wicket win.

Pat Cummins, who kept Maxwell company during an unbroken stand of 202 in that memorable match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, admitted to mixed emotions after leading Australia to a record-extending sixth World Cup title.

“It’s hard to say. Maybe because we won, but I did fall in love with ODI again this World Cup,” said fast bowler Cummins, who took a superb 2-34 from his maximum 10 overs as Australia held India to a modest total of 240 all out.

Australia briefly wobbled at 47-3 in reply before Travis Head’s 137 and the opener’s partnership of 192 with Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out) took Cummins’s side to victory with seven overs to spare.

Six tops and flops at Cricket World Cup

“I think the scenario where every game really matters, it does make it a bit different to just a bilateral (ODI),” said Cummins after a win that ended a run of three straight World Cups titles for a host nation following 2011, 2015 and 2019 triumphs for India, Australia and England respectively.

This was Australia’s eighth appearance in a World Cup final, having been involved in the inaugural 1975 showpiece game, losing to the West Indies in a celebrated clash at Lord’s.

“The World Cup’s got such rich history, I’m sure it’s going to be around for a long time,” said the 30-year-old Cummins, with the next edition scheduled for 2027 in southern Africa.

“There’s so many wonderful games, so many wonderful stories within this last couple of months. So, I think there’s definitely a place (for it).”

But the issue of what happens to ODIs between World Cups remains to be discussed.

Prior to this edition, incoming MCC president Mark Nicholas called for all ODIs between World Cups to be scrapped.

“We believe strongly that ODIs should be World Cups only,” he told ESPNcricinfo.

“They’re not filling grounds in a lot of countries. And there is a power at the moment to T20 cricket that is almost supernatural.”

He added: “In a free market, the most money wins.”

But former Hampshire captain Nicholas was a television broadcaster at a World Cup where he commentated admiringly on both Afghanistan and the Netherlands.

And without bilateral ODIs between tournaments such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, to be next played in Pakistan in 2025, how will those teams maintain their standard or become even better at 50-over cricket?

AHMEDABAD: Australia beat India by six wickets to lift their sixth title in the Cricket World Cup in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

AFP Sport takes a look at the tops and flops at the 13th edition of the tournament.

Tops

Afghanistan

– The Afghans enjoyed stellar performances starting with their stunning win over defending champions England.

In the first major upset of the tournament, Afghanistan posted 284 and then bowled out England for 215 with spin wizard Rashid Khan taking three wickets.

The performance was no flash in the pan as they kept up their giant-killing act and hammered neighbours Pakistan by eight wickets to trigger wild celebrations.

They finished with four victories including against Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, prompting coach Jonathan Trott to predict a “bright future” for the team.

Glenn Maxwell

– Maxwell smashed the tournament’s fastest century in 40 balls in a match-winning 106 against the Netherlands in New Delhi.

But Maxwell had only just got started as he then defied cramp and back spasms in a knock for the ages when he lifted Australia from 91-7 to victory with an unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan in Mumbai.

Known as “The Big Show” for his swashbuckling batting, Maxwell destroyed the Afghan bowling attack with 21 fours and 10 sixes in his 128-ball blitz.

He was the dominant partner in a 202-run stand with skipper Pat Cummins, who called Maxwell’s knock a “freak show” and the “greatest ODI innings”.

Virat Kohli

– Virat Kohli lived up to his billing as one of the modern-day greats, recording a 50th ODI century to go past compatriot Sachin Tendulkar’s 49 tons.

He achieved the feat in India’s semi-final against New Zealand at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, the home ground of Tendulkar.

Kohli, 35, amassed 765 runs including three hundreds in 11 matches to end up as the leading batsman in the tournament.

Cricket World Cup: Ten highlights

Teammate and fast bowler Mohammed Shami also played his role in getting the team to the final. He sat out the first four games but made a huge impact on his return with 24 wickets including a 7-57 in the semi-final.

Flops

Pakistan

– Babar Azam’s team came in with huge expectations and started with two victories before their campaign hit a wall in the shadow of right security which director of cricket Mickey Arthur branded as “stifling”.

A loss to India and then Australia hit them hard, but it was their defeat to Afghanistan that hurt as pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi looked out of sorts with 58 runs from his 10 overs and one wicket.

They slipped to their fourth loss in a heartbreaking one-wicket defeat to South Africa, a defeat Azam believed dented their semi-final hopes.

Fakhar Zaman’s match-winning 126 not out against New Zealand was a rare highlight before the 1992 champions crashed out and Azam resigned as captain from all formats.

Buttler and England

– Jos Buttler came into the tournament as captain of one of the fancied teams out to defend their title but their campaign fizzled out early after just one win in the first seven matches.

Buttler failed to provide any inspiration as he flopped with the bat, managing just 138 runs from nine matches.

It was a rare failure for Buttler, who scored 269 in six matches when he led the team to their maiden T20 World Cup victory in 2021.

Spirit of cricket

– Sri Lanka batsman Angelo Mathews became the first batsman in 146 years of international cricket to be given “timed out” in an ill-tempered match against Bangladesh.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan appealed after Mathews failed to take strike within the two-minute time limit when he came out to bat in New Delhi and was adjudged out.

Mathews branded Shakib “disgraceful” and the episode left the cricket world divided and the “spirit of cricket” debate reignited.

Ex-india batsman Gautam Gambhir called the act “absolutely pathetic”.

India coach Rahul Dravid said “we won’t do it” but “you can go and debate both the situations”.

AHMEDABAD: After 46 days and 48 matches, huge totals, shock wins, heartbreaking losses, records and controversies, the Cricket World Cup ended on Sunday.

AFP Sport looks at 10 highlights from the 2023 tournament:

South Africa, Markram in fast lane

The tournament was just two days old when South Africa’s Aiden Markram smashed the fastest World Cup century off 49 balls against Sri Lanka in New Delhi.

His team also entered the record books with the highest ever tournament total of 428 in a 102-run win.

Markram’s blitz bettered the 50 balls Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien needed to hit a hundred against England in Bengaluru in 2011.

However, Markram said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if his record was beaten by the end of the tournament. He was proved right by Glenn Maxwell just 18 days later.

Pakistan’s record chase

Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique made centuries as Pakistan chased down the highest target in World Cup history to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in Hyderabad.

Rizwan overcame leg cramps to score 131 not out while Shafique hit 113 as Pakistan overhauled their 345-run target.

Cricket World Cup: Top 20 quotes

Sri Lanka’s imposing total of 344-9 was built around hundreds from Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama.

Afghanistan, Netherlands make mark

Afghanistan pulled off one of the greatest World Cup shocks when they defeated defending champions England by 69 runs in New Delhi.

Chasing 285 to win, after opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz had hit a blistering 80, England were bowled out for 215 with spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan claiming three wickets each.

Eight days later in Chennai, Afghanistan chased down 283 to shock neighbours Pakistan with Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah and Gurbaz all scoring fifties.

In between, the Netherlands exploited South Africa’s dislike of chasing by stunning the Proteas by 38 runs in what Dutch media described as “the miracle of Dharamsala”.

Record-breaker Maxwell – part 1

Maxwell took Markram’s fastest World Cup century record by hitting a 40-ball hundred in Australia’s 309-run rout of the Netherlands at New Delhi.

Australia made 399-8 before the Dutch were dismissed for just 90 in 21 overs.

Maxwell’s ton was also the fourth fastest century in all ODIs.

Australia, New Zealand run festival

Australia edged out New Zealand by just five runs in the highest-scoring World Cup game in history in Dharamsala.

Australia scored 388 as Travis Head top-scored with 109 and fellow opener David Warner made 81.

New Zealand battled hard with Rachin Ravindra making 116.

With a total of 771 runs, it was the highest scoring game at a World Cup, beating the 754 scored in South Africa’s win against Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament.

India add to Sri Lanka woes

Mohammed Shami took five wickets as Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 55 as India secured a semi-final place with a colossal 302-run win in Mumbai.

Sri Lanka’s woeful innings featured five noughts, with both their openers falling for golden ducks as they flopped in pursuit of 358.

Timed-out controversy

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews branded Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan as “disgraceful” after he became the first player in 146 years of international cricket to be given “timed out”.

Mathews was adjudged to be out after failing to take strike within the two-minute time limit when he came out to bat in New Delhi. Shakib refused to withdraw the appeal.

“I had to take a decision to make sure that my team wins,” he said.

Record-breaker Maxwell – part 2

Australia captain Pat Cummins described it as “the greatest one-day innings ever played” as Glenn Maxwell’s stunning 201 not out guided Australia into the semi-finals in a sensational three-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Mumbai.

At 91-7, chasing 292, Australia were staring at defeat before Maxwell’s 128-ball innings which featured 21 fours and 10 sixes as he became just the third batsman to score a World Cup double century.

He achieved the mark despite battling cramps and back spasms which meant he was reduced to hobbling pace while Afghanistan were left to rue Mujeeb Ur Rahman dropping a simple catch when Maxwell had made just 33.

King Kohli

Virat Kohli scored a record 50th one-day international hundred in the semi-final win against New Zealand in Mumbai, hailing the landmark as being “like a dream”.

Kohli, 35, reached his century – his third of the tournament – with a two off fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, having faced 106 balls, hitting eight fours and a six, to break the record of 49 ODI hundreds he had shared with Sachin Tendulkar.

He did so on his former India team-mate’s home ground, with Tendulkar among those applauding at the Wankhede Stadium as Kohli bowed towards his childhood hero and fellow 2011 World Cup-winner.

Head breaks billion hearts

Opening batsman Travis Head hit 137 and took a spectacular catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma to steer Australia to a six-wicket win over India in the final for a sixth World Cup title.

India were dismissed for 240 before Australia reached their target with seven overs to spare in front of over 90,000 fans in Ahmedabad.

“That’s huge, that’s the pinnacle in cricket, winning a World Cup, especially here in India, and these are the moments you remember for the rest of your life,” said skipper Pat Cummins.

SYDNEY: Adam Gilchrist led the plaudits on Monday as Australia celebrated “a miracle” in winning the World Cup for a sixth time to reign over one-day cricket once again.

Pat Cummins’ men stunned the nearly 100,000 crowd in Ahmedabad on Sunday for a six-wicket victory over previously unbeaten India, breaking home hearts.

Opener Travis Head played a starring role in the final with a sparkling 137 off 120 deliveries and he also took a stunning catch to cut short skipper Rohit Sharma’s innings just short of a half-century.

Head joined Ricky Ponting and Gilchrist as the third Australian to score a century in a men’s World Cup final.

“I don’t know what I can’t believe more,” Head told reporters in Ahmedabad.

“What happened with the hundred and winning a World Cup, or taking that catch.”

Former skipper Gilchrist said the victory was among the greatest ever by an Australian sports side.

“So proud of this Australian team and crew,” Gilchrist wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“To win another World Cup in the manner and circumstance they have is one of the finest victories in our sporting history I reckon.

“Time to celebrate,” added Gilchrist, who scored 149 not out in the 2007 World Cup final win over Sri Lanka in Barbados.

Australia have won the World Cup six times, more than any other team, adding the 2023 crown to triumphs in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015.

Their feat was all the more impressive this time because it came against an India team who had, until now, looked imperious and had a passionate home crowd roaring them on.

In Virat Kohli they also had the leading batsman in the tournament.

“Australia defeat India to silence 1.4 billion fans and steal another trophy,” wrote The Daily Telegraph.

‘Incredible upset’

Set a challenging 241 for victory, Australia slipped to 47-3 before Head smashed his second century of the competition to steer his team home with seven overs to spare.

Head breaks India hearts as Australia win sixth World Cup title

Under the captaincy of Cummins, Australia added the 50-over crown to the World Test Championship title they won last June after beating India in the final in London.

“Silence golden for Cummins’ men as they go from good to great,” The Sydney Morning Herald said in a headline, referring to how the boisterous Ahmedabad crowd was stunned, especially when Cummins bowled Kohli for 54.

The Herald Sun hailed the win as “a miracle”.

“With their incredible upset, Australia has now won a record six World Cup titles – and none has been greater than in the heat of Ahmedabad,” it said.

Cricket Australia’s chief executive Nick Hockley said the team deserved the title and it was “testament to the calibre of our players across all formats”.

“This is another wonderful achievement by Pat Cummins and his team who have performed brilliantly in testing conditions and against strong opposition throughout the tournament,” Hockley said in a statement.

“To beat the previously undefeated India before their passionate home fans is an achievement that sits comfortably alongside any of Australia’s five previous World Cup finals victories.”

AHMEDABAD: A pro-Palestinian protester in India broke through security cordons to invade the pitch at the Cricket World Cup final on Sunday, stopping play briefly while he hugged superstar batsman Virat Kohli.

Wearing a face mask in the colours of the Palestinian flag, and a T-shirt with the slogan “Stop Bombing Palestine”, the unnamed young protester ran onto the pitch in the 132,000-seat mega-stadium in India’s western city of Ahmedabad.

He was escorted off the pitch by security officers, and play swiftly resumed.

Unbeaten hosts India have won 10 games in a row at the tournament as they seek a third World Cup title and were facing Australia in the final.

Australia win toss, India bat first in mouth-watering World Cup final

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to attend the match along with Australian deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

Israel has vowed to destroy the Palestinian Hamas in response to their October 7 attacks, which Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and saw about 240 people taken hostage.

Tentative Gaza deal reached to free some hostages, pause fighting: report

The army’s relentless air and ground campaign has since killed 12,300 people, more than 5,000 of them children, according to the Hamas government.

India, which has a long-standing call for an independent Palestinian state, has condemned Hamas and airlifted aid to Egypt for Palestinian civilians from the besieged Gaza Strip.

AHMEDABAD: Opener Travis Head hit a sparkling 137 to power Australia to a record-extending sixth World Cup title with a convincing six-wicket win over India in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Chasing a tricky 241 for victory in the final, Australia slipped to 47-3 before the left-handed Head hit his second century of the tournament to steer the team home with seven overs to spare.

Head’s knock and his marathon stand of 192 with Marnus Labuschagne, unbeaten on 58, ended India’s dominant run of 10 unbeaten matches at the event.

Head fell after his 120-ball knock laced with 15 fours and four sixes before Glenn Maxwell hit the winning runs to trigger wild celebrations in the Aussie camp.

“Just thrilled to be a part of it,” man-of-the-match Head told Star Sports.

India eye fairytale finish in World Cup final against Australia

“It’s a lot better than seeing the World Cup on the couch at home (on his injury). I was a little bit nervous but Marnus played exceptionally well and soaked all the pressure.”

India’s chances of ending a global trophy drought since their 2013 Champions Trophy win went up in smoke once Head got going with Labuschagne.

Head’s century was the seventh in a World Cup final and third by an Australian after Ricky Ponting (140 not out v India in 2003) and Adam Gilchrist (149 v Sri Lanka in 2007).

The bowlers set up victory for an Australian side that bounced back after two losses to win nine in a row as Mitchell Starc (3-55) and Pat Cummins (2-34) helped bowl out India for 240.

India hit back when Mohammed Shami shared the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah and struck on his second delivery to get David Warner caught behind for seven.

But it was Bumrah’s double strike in quick succession that raised the roof as he had Mitchell Marsh caught behind for 15 and Steve Smith lbw for four.

Head stood firm with Labuschagne for company to thwart the Indian attack despite captain Rohit Sharma rotating his bowlers in a hunt for a breakthrough.

‘Unbelievable’ achievement

Head, who suffered a fractured hand in South Africa in September, was in danger of missing the World Cup but Australia kept him in the squad until he was fit to play.

He hit a match-winning century against New Zealand in the team’s sixth league game and after a few low scores hit an attacking 62 in his team’s nervy three-wicket semi-final win over South Africa in Kolkata.

He turned India’s nemesis a second time this year after his 163 proved decisive in Australia’s World Test Championship triumph at the Oval in June.

Head reached his 100 in 95 balls and raised his bat to an applauding Australian dressing room.

“What we’ve achieved today is unbelievable,” said Labuschagne.

“It’s the best achievement I’ve ever been part of. India have been the team of the tournament, but you know if you play your best cricket, you have a chance. Our bowlers were sensational and Travis put on one hell of a display.”

Warner said, “Our bowlers were fantastic, they set the tone from ball one. The fielding supported that.”

Australia elected to field first and the players backed up Cummins’ decision with disciplined bowling and impressive fielding.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul hit 54 and 66 respectively after Rohit’s attacking 47 but the ball dominated the bat on a slow, dry pitch.

Head took a stunning catch while running back from cover point to cut short Rohit’s innings off spinner Maxwell.

Cummins bowled Kohli, who ended as the leading batsman in tournament with 765 runs, to silence the crowd of 92,453 fans, who like the home team in the middle had a forgettable day.

AHMEDABAD: India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday praised senior fast bowler Mohammed Shami for a spectacular renaissance at the World Cup after being ignored for the first four matches.

The hosts take on Australia in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday with Shami on top of the tournament bowling chart, taking 23 wickets in six matches.

The veteran Shami, 33, came into the side after an injury to all-rounder Hardik Pandya and soon made an impact with a five-wicket haul against New Zealand in Dharamsala.

There was no looking back for Shami, who remains India’s most experienced fast bowler in a pack which includes Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Australia ‘ready for anything India throw at us’ in final

He hammered home his importance with a return of 7-57 in the semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai.

“It was tough for him to not play the initial part of the World Cup, looking at him being one of the senior bowlers for us,” said Rohit.

“But he was there for the team. He was there to help Siraj, he was there to help Bumrah in whatever way he could. And that shows the quality of him, being the team man that he is.”

“The results are there for everyone to see how he has come back from that. That shows the kind of mental space that Shami had before the World Cup and now.”

Shami has claimed 194 wickets in 100 ODIs for India since his debut in 2013.

India have lived up to their billing of pre-tournament favourites with a clinical show in all departments of the game.

Virat Kohli leads the batting charge with 711 runs; Rohit is in fifth place with 550.

But it’s the bowlers who have come in for the captain’s lavish praise for keeping opposition teams in check in a high-scoring tournament where 300-plus totals have been racked up 25 times in 47 matches.

New Zealand are the only team to have scored more than 300 runs against India.

That came in the semi-final but the Black Caps still went down by 70 runs.

“The bowlers have done a great job for us in this tournament,” said Rohit.

“When we started off, we were chasing in the first four or five games and to restrict teams below 300 in Indian conditions was a great effort. It’s not been easy. But our seamers and the spinners did that perfectly.”

AHMEDABAD: Australia are adamant they will be “ready for anything” India throw at them in the Cricket World Cup final after controversy hit the tournament in a ‘pitch switch’ row.

India have been the form team of the World Cup, winning all 10 games on their way to Sunday’s showpiece match in Ahmedabad.

But there was controversy in the lead-up to their 70-run semi-final in over New Zealand in Mumbai after it emerged the game was being played on a Wankhede Stadium pitch already used twice before during the tournament rather than a freshly-prepared surface.

“No doubt playing on your own wicket in your own country has some advantages,” Australia captain Pat Cummins told a pre-match press conference on Saturday. “But we’ve played a lot of cricket over here.”

“We’ll be ready in terms of anything they’ll throw at us…we’ll make sure we have some plans.”

A used pitch had no major bearing on the Mumbai semi-final, with more than 700 runs scored in the game.

Cummins, asked if he had already seen the pitch for the final, replied: “Yeah, just had a look. It looked pretty firm…I think Pakistan played someone there.”

India and arch-rivals Pakistan clashed in Ahmedabad four weeks ago.

The hosts cruised to victory by seven wickets after winning the toss and dismissing their opponents for just 191.

Cummins banishes captaincy queries with World Cup heroics

Used pitches generally favour spinners, with slow bowling a key component of a five-man India attack where Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to bowl 20 of their 50 overs on Sunday.

Australia have already won the World Cup a record five times and 30-year-old fast bowler Cummins, a member of the victorious 2015 side, was excited by having the opportunity to emulate the likes of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting by leading the team to glory on Sunday.

“It would be huge,” he said. “We were all kids not too long ago, watching some of those great teams win the 1999, 2003, 2007 World Cups.”

He added: “To be captain would be an absolute privilege…it’d be awesome.

“It (the World Cup) has got the longest history of a world event where all the teams compete.

“You only get a shot at it every four years. So even if you have a long career, you might only play in two of these events. 2015 is still a career highlight for me, but I think tomorrow, if we win, might pip it.”

AHMEDABAD: Cricket World Cup factfile on India ahead of the final against Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday:

World ranking

1

Path to the final

Group stage

Oct 08: bt Australia by 6 wickets at Chennai

Oct 11: bt Afghanistan by 8 wickets at New Delhi

Oct 14: bt Pakistan by 7 wickets at Ahmedabad

Oct 19: bt Bangladesh by 7 wickets at Pune

Oct 22: bt New Zealand by 4 wickets at Dharamsala

Oct 29: bt England by 100 runs at Lucknow

Nov 02: bt Sri Lanka by 302 runs at Mumbai

Nov 05: bt South Africa by 243 runs at Kolkata

Nov 12: bt Netherlands by 160 runs at Bengaluru

Semi-final

Nov 15: bt New Zealand by 70 runs at Mumbai

Squad

Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (replaced by Prasidh Krishna in squad after injury), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav

Leading run-scorer in squad

Virat Kohli: 13,794 runs; highest score 183; average 58.69; Hundreds 50, Fifties 71

Leading run-scorer at 2023 World Cup

Virat Kohli: 711 runs; highest score 117; average 101.57; Hundreds 3, Fifties 5

Leading wicket-taker in squad

Ravindra Jadeja: 220 wickets; best bowling 5-33; average 35.87

Leading wicket-taker at 2023 Corld Cup

Mohammad Shami: 23 wickets; best bowling 7-57; average 9.13

Previous World Cup appearances

1975: Group stage

1979: Group stage

1983: Champions

1987: Semi-finals

1991: Round-robin stage

1996: Semi-finals

1999: Super Six

2003: Runners-up

2007: Group stage

2011: Champions

2015: Semi-finals

2019: Semi-finals

AHMEDABAD: Cricket World Cup factfile on Australia ahead of the final against India in Ahmedabad on Sunday:

World ranking

2

Path to the final

Group stage

Oct 08: lost to India by 6 wickets at Chennai

Oct 12: lost to South Africa by 134 runs at Lucknow

Oct 16: bt Sri Lanka by 5 wickets at Lucknow

Oct 20: bt Pakistan by 62 runs at Bengaluru

Oct 25: bt Netherlands by 309 runs at New Delhi

Oct 28: bt New Zealand by 5 runs at Dharamsala

Nov 04: bt England by 33 runs at Ahmedabad

Nov 07: bt Afghanistan by 3 wickets at Mumbai

Nov 11: bt Bangladesh by 8 wickets at Pune

Semi-final

Nov 16: bt South Africa by 3 wickets at Kolkata

Squad

Pat Cummins (captain), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis (wkt), Sean Abbott, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.

Leading run-scorer in squad

David Warner: 6,925 runs; highest score 179; average 45.55; Hundreds 22; Fifties 33

Leading run-scorer at 2023 World Cup

David Warner: 528 runs; highest score 163; average 52.80; Hundreds 2; Fifties 2

Leading wicket-taker in squad

Mitchell Starc: 233 wickets; best bowling 6-28; average 23.02

Leading wicket-taker in squad

Adam Zampa: 22 wickets; best bowling 4-8; average 21.40

Previous World Cup appearances

1975: Runners-up

1979: Group stage

1983: Group stage

1987: Champions

1992: Round-robin stage

1996: Runners-up

1999: Champions

2003: Champions

2007: Champions

2011: Quarter-finals

2015: Champions

2019: Semi-finals

MELBOURNE: Pat Cummins may be undecided about his future as Australia’s one-day international captain after the World Cup but few of his compatriots will be urging him to stand down after his efforts in India.

Australia have had no shortage of contributors through the tournament, with Adam Zampa taking 22 wickets and David Warner scoring a pile of runs.

Cummins’s courage under fire and unlikely heroics with the bat, however, have been vital in his team’s revival following back-to-back defeats at the start of the campaign.

An unbeaten 14 against South Africa in Thursday’s semi-final saw Cummins walk off the ground with bat in hand and victory secured for the second time in the tournament.

In the first, he teamed up with Glenn Maxwell to save Australia against Afghanistan, hanging tough in an epic knock of 12 not out from 68 balls to allow his all-rounder team mate to thrash a double century for victory.

Australia has had its fair share of serious skippers, from “Captain Grumpy” Allan Border to the stone-faced Steve Waugh.

Cummins, by contrast, has kept the mood light in the dressing room and out at the crease, where the banter flows freely with batting partners no matter how high the stakes.

“I think it’s easier out there than sitting in the dugout,” Cummins said of batting in a tense finish. Having led Australia to their first World Test Championship triumph in June, Cummins could become the fourth Australian captain to secure the global 50-over title on Sunday, joining Border, Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

Scepticism

For all Australia’s success in the test arena since Cummins replaced Tim Paine as skipper two years ago, his captaincy has not always been universally admired.

He has leant heavily on former captain Steve Smith and coach Andrew McDonald, while battling scepticism in Australia that a fast bowler can – or should – juggle leadership duties.

Australia’s failure to win the Ashes in England earlier this year after leading 2-0 saw him come in for stiff criticism from former players and pundits who nit-picked at tactical decisions.

India eye fairytale finish in World Cup final against Australia

Even his place in the World Cup squad was questioned given his relatively modest bowling figures in ODIs compared to fellow quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

Former captain Michael Clarke dropped a bombshell that Cummins was set to be dropped after the opening defeats to India and South Africa.

It proved a red herring. Cummins took two vital wickets in the next match against Sri Lanka, ran out another batsman with a sensational piece of fielding, and set Australia on its path to eight successive wins.

With Cummins in charge, victory over hosts India in Ahmedabad on Sunday would mark Australia as one of the great cross-format teams of the modern era.

“The team has done really well and if you win a World Cup that’s a real feather in your cap as a leader,” Steve Waugh told News Ltd media on Friday. “That’s a legacy you can leave. You can never have that taken away from you. “It’s a big moment for him and the team.”

NEW DELHI: Long-simmering rivalries on and off the pitch divided India and Pakistan once more at the World Cup, but a cricket show run by Pakistani greats of the game has won fans across the border.

The Pavilion, featuring cricketing heroes turned broadcasters including Wasim Akram, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq and Moin Khan, has been a hit in India for what fans say is its unbiased and engaging commentary.

“They give cutting-edge, sharp analysis,” said Shubhanan Nair, a 32-year-old in India’s southern city of Bangalore, who said watching the programme online had become part of his “daily ritual”.

“They will talk about what went wrong with every team, including their own… they also appreciate whichever team did well.”

Cricket World Cup final: India v Australia head-to-head record

Neighbours India and Pakistan share deep cultural and linguistic links but their history has been mired in violence and bloodshed.

The two nuclear-armed nations have fought three wars since the subcontinent’s partition in 1947.

“If it’s black, we say black, and if it’s white, we say white,” presenter and Pakistan legend Wasim Akram told AFP.

“Speak your own mind but nothing personal, everything has to be professional and positive.”

India maintain perfect ODI World Cup record over Pakistan with massive win

Launched for the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, the show enjoyed viewing figures on all platforms of about 130 million – until the one-day World Cup opened last month in India.

Akram said numbers were now “almost double”.

“It’s just four to five of us talking, no science… it’s a lot of hard work,” he said.

“But sitting together, enjoying each other’s company, it’s a lot of fun – and I suppose that’s what people see.”

England send Pakistan crashing out of World Cup with thumping win

‘Love from India’

Akram said he was happy the show was reaching a wider audience and admitted its popularity across borders had surprised him.

“We have respect for each other, we crack jokes, we enjoy each other’s company… if our show is able to tell people that at the end of the day it’s only a game, that’s so nice.

“If you’re Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan – everybody is patriotic about their country,” he added.

“Let’s leave it at that and just talk about good in this day and age, to be nice to each other, respect each other.

“If our show is making that impact, then we’re over the moon.”

Hosts India, who will contest Sunday’s final against Australia, beat Pakistan in the only match they played against each other at this World Cup.

The clash took place in front of a partisan home crowd after Pakistani fans were unable to secure visas from Indian authorities.

Any meeting between the rivals has millions watching around the globe and is a bonanza for broadcasters and sponsors.

But Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup on Saturday, failing to reach the semi-finals with five defeats and four wins.

Cricket fans throng hospitals for overnight stay as Indo-Pak hysteria grips Ahmedabad

“At this World Cup, Pakistan will be remembered the most for The Pavilion on A Sports,” fan Abhishek Mukherjee wrote on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

On its YouTube channel, comments below the programme show how a sport can bring otherwise rivals together.

“Wish we had a show like this in India… love from India,” one said.

From Pakistan, another watcher reciprocated, wishing India good luck in the final.

“I really hope India wins this World Cup…love from Lahore,” wrote a user named izzkii.

AHMEDABAD: India v Australia ODI record ahead of the World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Match starts 0830GMT

Last 10 meetings:

27/11/2020: Sydney - Australia won by 66 runs

29/11/2020: Sydney - Australia won by 51 runs

02/12/2020: Canberra - India won by 13 runs

17/03/2023: Mumbai - India won by 5 wickets

19/03/2023: Visakhapatnam - Australia won by 10 wickets

22/03/2023: Kolkata - Australia won by 21 runs

22/09/2023: Mohali - India won by 5 wickets

24/09/2023: Indore - India won by 99 runs

27/09/2023: Rajkot - Australia won by 56 runs

08/10/2023: Chennai - India won by 6 wickets

Overall:

India: 57 wins

Australia: 83 wins

Tied: 0

No Result: 10

Australia head into their World Cup decider against India with all pieces in place following a devastating return to form of their vaunted pace attack in the South Africa semi-final.

Power play wickets had proved elusive for the five-times champions but the withering opening spells of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were decisive against the Proteas in the three-wicket win in Kolkata.

Along with captain Pat Cummins, the fire-and-ice duo of Starc and Hazlewood had previously been left in the shade by legspinner Adam Zampa and his 22 victims at the tournament.

On Thursday, however, the quicks grabbed eight of the 10 wickets between them for a handy confidence boost before the ultimate test against India’s peerless batting machine.

South Africa look forward to future success despite semi-final loss

“It’s probably not been the tournament I would have liked from the get-go,” Starc told reporters.

“But nice to step up in a big game.” Pace has never failed to be a factor in Australia’s white-ball triumphs and proved key when Aaron Finch’s squad won the nation’s maiden T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2021.

For all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, the glow in the Australian dressing room is akin to the squad’s ebullience during the UAE tournament where they peaked at the right time.

Australia’s quicks will again be looking to make early in-roads against the hosts, who racked up 397 for four in their semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai.

New Zealand’s pacemen failed to deal with the heat brought by India captain Rohit Sharma and fellow opener Shubman Gill who paved the way for the Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer centuries.

“It’s huge, and the bigger the game the more important it becomes,” said Hazlewood of capturing early wickets.

“So we know the blueprint now if we’re bowling first, and hopefully go again on Sunday.” Ahmedabad’s pitch is likely to be a major talking point following the Mumbai semi-final where the hosts made a late change and served up a slow wicket.

Australia beat England in Ahmedabad on a pitch which Hazlewood described as good “without being an absolute flat track”.

He said he expected similar for the final but was confident Australia’s quicks would be able to deal with any conditions.

“We’ve been around the block a few times now, and we’ve seen that with India, apart from that one game against us, they’ve played three quicks for the majority as well and they’ve been outstanding,” he said.

“So we know it can be done, we’ve seen them do it and we’ve been here a lot of times now so we know how to bowl in these conditions.”

KOLKATA: South Africa may have suffered more Cricket World Cup semi-final heartache but coach Rob Walter believes they have laid a platform for the future with a core group of players after exceeding expectations at the most recent tournament in India.

Poor starts with the bat and ball cost the side in their tense three wicket defeat to old foes Australia on Thursday – the fifth time they have exited a World Cup in the semi-finals.

South Africa will co-host the next 50-over finals with Namibia and Zimbabwe in 2027 and Walter believes there is much room for optimism they can improve further having arrived in India under the radar and with little expectation of success.

“I’m excited,” he told reporters. “There’s huge scope for us to grow as a team and to play even better than we have. The majority of the people that are going to be on the journey (to the next World Cup) are still in the changing room.

“We’ve seen young guys at the end of the tournament with less than 15 games to their name stand up and really dominate in certain phases for the team. “Different people putting their hands up throughout the competition.” Wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock announced he would retire from the 50-over format before the tournament started, while 2027 may be too far off for 34-year-old batters David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen, the core of the group should remain.

Head breaks South African hearts as Australia set up World Cup final with India

“We’ve seen guys play unbelievable cricket that probably surprised a lot of people in this (media) room and around the world. I think that is what fuels them to come back and be better,” Walter said.

Former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn, who lost in the semi-finals in 2015, also believes there is cause for optimism.

“If you look at the stats overall, South Africa will walk away and say they ticked all the boxes they wanted to, but they just didn’t get over the line,” he told CricInfo.

“There will be some question-marks, but overall they were fantastic. I didn’t think they would make the semi-finals when (fast bowler) Anrich Nortje was injured.”

MUMBAI: Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami starred as India beat New Zealand to reach the World Cup final but Nasser Hussain believes captain Rohit Sharma has been their “real hero” of the tournament.

Unbeaten hosts India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs in Mumbai on Wednesday to make it 10 wins out of 10 this World Cup as they booked a place in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad.

Kohli scored a record 50th one-day international hundred in an imposing total of 397-4 that also featured Shreyas Iyer’s rapid 105 off 70 balls before Mohammed Shami cleaned up with a stunning seven-wicket haul.

But it was 36-year opener Rohit, on his Wankhede Stadium home ground, who set the tone with a 29-ball 47 after winning the toss.

Kohli, Shami star as India beat New Zealand to reach World Cup final

Hussain said Rohit, appointed India’s white-ball captain in December 2021, deserved plenty of credit for India’s run to the final.

“The headlines will be about Kohli, about Shreyas, about Shami. But the genuine hero of this Indian side, the man who has changed the culture, is Rohit Sharma,” Hussain told Sky Sports.

The former England captain, himself born in Madras (now Chennai), added: “It’s one thing coming in the group stage, but can you do it again, can you play fearless cricket in a semi-final?

“Their skipper went out there and showed everyone, showed his dressing room that they’re going to carry on in exactly the same way.”

Kohli may be the tournament’s leading batsman with 711 runs, but Michael Atherton – another ex-England captain – said the manner in which Rohit, who has now scored 550 in this World Cup himself, batted on Wednesday was telling.

‘Sending a message’

“For a team who have occasionally blinked when the critical moment has arrived in recent ICC events, often tip-toeing through an innings, Rohit led brilliantly, as he has throughout a campaign where he has eschewed personal milestones and batted selflessly against the new ball,” Atherton wrote in The Times.

“It was not the number of runs that he scored, but the message he sent in getting India off to a flyer, making 47 in only 29 balls, that was vital. Don’t go into your shells, he was saying.”

Yet in a match where 724 runs in all were scored, despite concerns about a used pitch, it was paceman Shami who had the final say with an extraordinary return of 7-57 – the best by any bowler in a World Cup semi-final.

Shami was out of the India team for the first four matches of the tournament and might not have featured at all but for an injury to Hardik Pandya.

Yet heading into Thursday’s second semi-final between Australia and South Africa, he was the leading bowler at the World Cup with 23 wickets from six games at astonishingly low average of under 10 apiece.

England’s 2019 World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, who faced Shami during his career, said: “The level of control he has shown throughout this tournament to move the ball off the seam and in the air has been great to admire.

“Seven for 57 in a one-day international is unheard of, particularly in a World Cup knock-out game where there is a huge amount of pressure on him…To have someone like that at your disposal for Rohit Sharma adds more value to the strength of India.”

KOLKATA: Travis Head starred with bat and ball as Australia set up a World Cup final clash with India after a tense three-wicket win over South Africa in Kolkata on Thursday.

Chasing a tricky 213 for victory, Australia wobbled after Head hit 62 but Steve Smith (30) and Josh Inglis (28) helped the five-time champions reach their target with 16 balls to spare in the second semi-final in Kolkata.

"It's hard to unpack all of that. I didn't move for the past couple of hours. It was a tense finish and an amazing game," said Head.

New Zealand confident about future after semi-final exit

As Australia reached an eighth World Cup final, South Africa were left to rue a fifth semi-final loss despite David Miller's 101.

Australia slipped to 137-5 and then 193-7 before Mitchell Starc (16) and skipper Pat Cummins (14) kept their nerve to steer the team home.

Left-hand batsman and part-time off-spinner Head stood out after taking two wickets and then with his 48-ball innings laced with nine fours and two sixes.

Australia were in trouble when they were five down as spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi struck in quick succession to rattle the middle-order.

Maharaj bowled Head, who was dropped on 40 and 57, and Shamsi, a left-arm wrist spinner, trapped Marnus Labuschagne lbw for 18 and bowled Glenn Maxwell for one in his next over.

Australia started the tournament with two losses but registered their eighth straight win.

"The way we started with the bat and ball was the turning point, we always had to play catch-up," said South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma.

"The conditions combined with the quality of the Australia attack. They were ruthless and exploited every bit of advantage, and really put us under pressure."

Starc led the bowling charge with figures of 3-34 and Cummins also picked three wickets to bowl out South Africa for 212 in 49.4 overs.

Left-arm quick Starc struck in the first over to send back Bavuma, who had said he was not "100% fit" at the toss, for a fourth-ball duck.

Josh Hazlewood claimed the wicket of in-form Quinton de Kock for three as Cummins took a stunning catch.

De Kock, who will quit one-day international after the World Cup, ended with 594 runs including four centuries to sit behind the tournament's leading batsman Virat Kohli (711).

The new-ball bowlers kept up the attack with the wickets of Aiden Markram (10) and Rassie van der Dussen (six) as South Africa slumped to 24-4 and were 44-4 when rain interrupted play.

Klaasen and Miller hit back after the 45-minute rain break as the two put on 95 runs but Head broke through to bowl Klaasen for 47.

Head trapped Marco Jansen lbw on the next delivery to be on a hat-trick, which was saved by Gerald Coetzee, who put on a 53-run partnership with Miller.

The left-handed Miller smashed eight fours and five sixes in his 116-ball knock.

The final is on Sunday at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

MUMBAI: New Zealand are confident they have the foundations in place to continue to compete with the elite at the World Cup even if they could be without Kane Williamson and a few other generational talents when the next edition comes around.

Skipper Williamson had no complaints about how the Blacks Caps were manhandled out of the semi-finals by India on Wednesday, possibly bringing to an end his hopes of ever raising the oldest limited-overs World Cup trophy.

The batting great, who has played in four World Cup semi-finals and two finals, will be 37 when southern Africa hosts the quadrennial 50-overs showpiece in 2027, while strike bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult will be 38.

Williamson laughed when the matter was raised at his post-match press conference – “Are you going to talk about how old we are?, he joked – before saying he saw signs that the ageing world class talents were bringing along younger players.

“It’s been an ongoing effort as a side to keep trying to get better and push the boundaries of where we can get to as a team and all those people are part of that,” he said.

“You can only hope that, as we experienced from some of our leaders as young guys, that we can continue to bring players through. “Some good signs, certainly, in this last period of time. It’s not over just yet, but that’s where the focus is.”

Kohli, Shami star as India beat New Zealand to reach World Cup final

Despite losing five of their last six matches at the tournament, Williamson was proud of what the Black Caps had achieved in India and accepted that they had simply been beaten by a better team at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

He refused to look for excuses in the injuries that restricted him to four matches, robbed the Black Caps of quick Matt Henry for the last two weeks and also hampered all-rounders Jimmy Neesham and Mark Chapman.

While New Zealand’s bowlers did not produce their best in tricky conditions for seamers, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell were the tournament’s third and fourth highest run-scorers after Wednesday’s match.

Mitchell gave New Zealand a brief glimmer of hope that they might be able to run down the victory target of 398 and reach a third successive final with a spectacular 134 from 119 balls.

The 32-year-old only started playing international cricket four years ago and joined his captain in warning against writing off New Zealand’s many thirtysomethings just yet.

“For me now it’s trying to make the most of playing for New Zealand for as long as I can and keep trying to move this Silver Fern forward,” he told reporters.

“I love being part of this group and we’ve got a number of world class players who love being in that changeroom and love playing for New Zealand. “I’m sure many of the boys will keep doing it for a while yet.”

MUMBAI: Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar hailed Virat Kohli on Wednesday, telling his compatriot he “couldn’t be happier that an Indian” broke his record for one-day international hundreds.

Kohli racked up his 50th century in the format on Tendulkar’s home Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.

“The first time I met you in the Indian dressing room, you were pranked by other teammates into touching my feet. I couldn’t stop laughing that day,” Tendulkar wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“But soon, you touched my heart with your passion and skill. I couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record.

Kohli scores record 50th one-day international hundred

“And to do it on the biggest stage - in the World Cup semi-final - and at my home ground is the icing on the cake.”

Kohli had moved level with Tendulkar’s all-time mark of 49 centuries on his 35th birthday in the World Cup group stage win over South Africa 10 days ago.

On Wednesday, Kohli went onto make 117 as India piled up 397-4 in their innings.

MUMBAI: India’s Virat Kohli scored a record 50th one-day international hundred when he reached three figures in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday, hailing the landmark as being “like a dream”.

Kohli, 35, reached his century – his third of the tournament – with a two off fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, having faced 106 balls, hitting eight fours and a six, to break the record of 49 ODI hundreds he had shared with Sachin Tendulkar.

He did so on his former India team-mate’s home ground, with Tendulkar among those applauding at the Wankhede Stadium as Kohli bowed towards his childhood hero and fellow 2011 World Cup-winner.

Five memorable Virat Kohli tons in ODI cricket

“It feels like a dream. Too good to be true,” said Kohli at the innings break after India piled up 397-4.

This was Kohli’s 279th ODI innings, with the former India captain having also scored a further 71 fifties in addition to his 50 hundreds.

Dropped on 107, Kohli was eventually out for 117 when he pulled Tim Southee low to Devon Conway at deep square leg.

“For me the most important thing is to make my team win. I’ve been given a role this tournament and I’m trying to dig deep,” added Kohli.

“That’s the key to consistency - play according to the situation and play for the team.”

Tendulkar, whose previous record of 49 had been equalled by Kohli 10 days ago in the group stage win over South Africa, hailed his compatriot’s “passion and skill”.

“The first time I met you in the Indian dressing room, you were pranked by other teammates into touching my feet. I couldn’t stop laughing that day,” Tendulkar wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“But soon, you touched my heart with your passion and skill. I couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record.

“And to do it on the biggest stage - in the World Cup semi-final - and at my home ground is the icing on the cake.”

Kohli said he was over-joyed to achieve the record in front of his wife, Anushka Sharma, and Tendulkar

“Sachin was there in the stands, my hero. My life partner and all these fans at the Wankhede,” said Kohli.

India, bidding to win a third World Cup title and second on home soil, were also boosted by Shreyas Iyer’s 105 and 80 from Shubman Gill.

KOLKATA: Injured South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma on Wednesday said he is not “100 percent” and the team will decide later if he is fit enough to play in the World Cup semi-final against Australia.

Bavuma, an opening batsman, struggled with his hamstring in the win over Afghanistan and remains in doubt for Thursday’s game in Kolkata.

“Physically I feel alright. Obviously not 100 percent,” Bavuma told reporters.

“So this day becomes important in terms of a decision about tomorrow. I’m quite confident, but it’s not a unilateral decision that will be made.”

On his mindset on the eve of the semi-final, Bavuma added: “A bit nervous of the game. It will be our first semi-final as a team. But I think the feeling is no different from any game that we’ve encountered within the World Cup.”

Rohit gets India off to rapid start in World Cup semi-final

Bavuma, 33, strained his hamstring during the win over Afghanistan last Friday and hobbled while batting for his 23 runs.

The captain has already missed two games at the World Cup through illness.

Coach Rob Walter said Tuesday the team will “not give Bavuma extra protection if the injury does not heal sufficiently and inhibits his play”.

MUMBAI: Virat Kohli scored a record-breaking 50th one-day international hundred and Mohammed Shami took seven wickets as India beat New Zealand by 70 runs to reach the Cricket World Cup final on Wednesday.

Kohli made 117 to surpass the ODI century record he had shared with India great Sachin Tendulkar, and Shreyas Iyer clubbed a rapid 105 in a commanding total of 397-4.

New Zealand were then dismissed for 327 despite Daryl Michell's 134 with paceman Shami taking a sensational career-best 7-57.

India-New Zealand World Cup semi-final being played on used pitch

The Black Caps had hope of an improbable win during a third-wicket stand of 181 between captain Kane Williamson and Mitchell at the Wankhede Stadium

Shami, however, all but ended the chase with two wickets in three balls during the 33rd over.

Star batsman Williamson fell for 69 when he flicked Shami -- who had dropped him on 52 -- straight to Suryakumar Yadav at deep square leg.

And 220-3 became 220-4 when Shami had Tom Latham lbw for a duck.

Shami then went on to better his previous one-day international best of 5-18 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede earlier in the tournament by dismissing Mitchell, Southee and last man Lockie Ferguson.

In Sunday's final, India will face either Australia or South Africa who play their semi-final on Thursday.

MUMBAI: The first semi-final of the 2023 World Cup between India and New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday will be played on a used pitch that has already staged two games during the showpiece tournament.

Although there is no International Cricket Council rule stating knockout games must be played on fresh pitches, a brand new surface can be provided for showpiece games.

Both Britain’s Daily Mail and the ESPNCricinfo website reported the India-New Zealand semi-final was initially supposed to be played on pitch seven, the central strip at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

New Zealand’s Ferguson says ‘we all start from zero’ in India semi-final

Pitch seven was not used during the round-robin stage of the World Cup.

But instead the match is being played on pitch six, the surface used for South Africa’s 229-run win over England on October 21, and India’s 302-run victory over Sri Lanka on November 2.

A source quoted by ESPNcricinfo said this represented a deviation from the pre-tournament pitch allocation.

“6-8-6-8-7 was the planned rotation at Wankhede,” the source said. “6-8-6-8 is what has been used so far.”

According to the ICC’s tournament playing conditions, the relevant ground authority – in this case the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) - “is responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch” before any given match“.

The ICC also have their own independent pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson.

The Daily Mail reported Atkinson had become frustrated by changes to pre-tournament plans.

They quoted a leaked email in which Atkinson speculated whether the pitch for Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad “will be the first ever ICC CWC final to have a pitch which has been specifically chosen and prepared to their stipulation at the request of the team management and/or the hierarchy of the home nation board”.

The winners of Wednesday’s match will face either Australia or South Africa, who play in Kolkata on Thursday, in the final.

Australia captain Pat Cummins said Wednesday he had confidence in the integrity of the ICC’s pitch process.

“Yeah, I saw that (the report)…obviously ICC have an independent pitch curator who manages that so I’m sure they are all over making sure it’s fair for both teams,” Cummins said.

“So far this tournament (on pitches) that we’ve played on I’ve not seen any issue.”

Used pitches generally aid spinners, which could be a boon to an India side that has Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as two of its frontline bowlers.

The ICC does not mandate that knockout games be played on a new pitch, with their regulations saying only: “It is expected that venues that are allocated the responsibility of hosting a match will present the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for that match.”

The semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup in England were played on fresh pitches, but used pitches were provided for the semi-finals of last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

KOLKATA: Australia have grown accustomed to reaching the business end of cricket showpiece events and that experience will stand them in good stead for their World Cup semi-final against South Africa, skipper Pat Cummins said on Wednesday.

The five-times champions shook off a sluggish start in India by stringing together seven wins in a row to make the last four, demonstrating yet again their ability to rise to the occasion when the pressure is on.

Four of their 50-overs titles have come in the last six editions of the tournament, while they also won the Twenty20 version in the United Arab Emirates in 2021.

By contrast, South Africa have never progressed beyond the semi-finals of the 50-overs World Cup, stymied by a combination of bad luck and nerves.

“I think what helps us is we’ve got a lot of guys that have been in this situation before, that have won the one-day World Cup, T20 World Cup, various other tournaments in big moments,” Cummins said ahead of Thursday’s match at Eden Gardens.

“We feel lucky that we’ve been in these situations quite a bit, a lot of our players. “Hard to speak on their behalf but I do know each World Cup it does seem to be the story that South Africa haven’t quite achieved what they set out to do.”

After defeats by hosts India and South Africa to start the tournament, Cummins was pleased with how his team have peaked at the right time.

“I think we’ve come a long way since the start of the tournament,” the pace bowler said. “We got better as a team since then.

“We are a bit more aggressive with our batting, we are taking the game on a bit more. With the bowling, I think we’ve just got better and better in all phases. “We’ve obviously played a lot of cricket over the last month and it just feels like everyone knows their role and it’s starting to click.”

Australia’s Warner wants to play on in white-ball internationals

Australia will welcome back fit-again all-rounder Glenn Maxwell but Cummins did not reveal whether it would be all-rounder Marcus Stoinis or batter Marnus Labuschagne sitting out.

Asked if he might like to turn up the heat on South Africa by reminding them of their World Cup choker’s tag, Cummins cracked a mischievous smile and said, “You already have.”

KOLKATA: Should South Africa finally shed the World Cup ‘chokers’ tag by beating Australia in their semi-final on Thursday it may feel doubly sweet given the prominent role their opponents have played in creating the myth of the panicky Proteas.

Nearly a quarter-century has passed since the classic 1999 World Cup semi-final where South Africa needed one run from four balls for victory, only to draw the match and be eliminated due to Australia’s higher placed finish in the Super Sixes stage.

Far more than just a bleak day for South African cricket, the Edgbaston debacle remains a historical reference point for all the ills that have since befallen the Proteas at World Cups.

While the semi-final was dramatic enough in isolation, South Africa’s doom was actually a tragicomedy in two parts, with act one being the final Super Six match against Australia days earlier.

Australia captain Steve Waugh played the villain to perfection, scoring a match-winning, unbeaten century after being bizarrely reprieved by Herschelle Gibbs.

Gibbs had jogged to his side at mid-wicket to take a simple catch but spilled the ball when set to fling it skyward in celebration.

“You’ve just dropped the World Cup,” were the words attributed to Waugh after Gibbs’s drop, though neither player has ever corroborated the remark.

It proved the sharpest of turning points as Waugh guided Australia to victory with two balls to spare, saving his team from the brink of elimination.

South Africa, chasing a modest 214 for victory in the teams’ re-match in the semi-final, entered the final over at 205 for nine, with Lance Klusener on strike and tail-ender Allan Donald at the other end.

Klusener thumped fours off paceman Damien Fleming’s first two balls to leave South Africa needing one run from the final four balls for a place in their maiden World Cup final.

Klusener mishit the next two deliveries but made an ill-fated dash for a run on the second, only for Donald to be caught unawares.

South Africa’s humiliation was complete when Donald dropped his bat when finally taking off for the run and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist whipped off the bails.

History reminder

World Cup setbacks have piled up for the Proteas ever since.

They were eliminated from their home World Cup in 2003 after miscalculating the adjusted winning target in a rain-hit match against Sri Lanka.

Four years later they crashed to a heavy defeat in the semis against Australia, and a stunning batting collapse in the 2011 quarter-finals saw them beaten by New Zealand.

In 2015, New Zealand batsman Grant Elliot smashed Dale Steyn for six to sink South Africa in the semi-final in Auckland.

Australia’s Warner wants to play on in white-ball internationals

Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said he would waste no time in bringing up South Africa’s World Cup misfires if he was playing against them in Thursday’s semi-final in Kolkata.

“I’d be reminding them of that (history) as soon as we walk on the field,” TV pundit Haddin said this week.

“They’ll have enough going on in their own heads and we’ll have a few players reminding them of that.”

KOLKATA: Opener David Warner has not ruled out playing on for Australia in white-ball cricket even until the next World Cup in 2027 despite having announced that he would be bringing an end to his test career in January.

The 37-year-old, who will play in his third World Cup semi-final on Thursday against South Africa, cited the example of players such as Brad Hogg, Chris Gayle and Shoaib Malik who continued playing limited overs cricket into their 40s.

“Everyone wants to set themselves a realistic goal … I’m still feeling fit,” he told Australian media in Kolkata.

“My goal is still to set my sights on playing the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean (next June) first. And I think from there, I’ll probably decide what I’m going to do with white-ball cricket. “Obviously, you’ve got contracting systems and all that stuff are inside that. So, there’s a lot of things you’ve got to factor in as well. They’re probably going to be conversations I’ll have after this summer.”

Retiring Warner key for Australia’s World Cup title hopes

Warner, Australia’s leading run-scorer at the World Cup with 499 runs from nine innings, said he would not accept a central Cricket Australia contract next year, preferring to play on as a freelancer.

“It’s very difficult to say, ‘I want to play Twenty20s and one-dayers’, but you don’t want to be taking contracts from a young kid that’s coming through,” the left-hander added. “(If you accept a deal) you’re legally bound by a contracting system with sponsors and stuff. That’s something that becomes a pain in the backside as well, especially at the stage of my career I’m at.”

Warner announced in June that he wanted to draw down the curtain on his test career against Pakistan in early January at Sydney Cricket Ground, a few hundred metres from where he was born.

That was considered presumptuous by some given his poor recent form in the longest format and Warner said he had not heard one way or another whether he would get his wish.

“You don’t get told anything,” Warner said. “It’s like every white-ball series. No one gets told anything until the white-ball series is done. That’s in everything.”

KOLKATA: Five-time winners Australia and South Africa clash in the second semi-final of the Cricket World Cup in Kolkata on Thursday.

AFP Sport takes a look at five great one-day matches between the cricketing powerhouses.

Edgbaston tie - June 17, 1999

The semi-final at the seventh edition of the World Cup went down as one of the most dramatic knockout matches with the game ending in a tie at Birmingham’s Edgbaston ground.

Chasing 214 for victory, South Africa needed one run to win off the final three deliveries, with just one wicket left and Lance Klusener batting on 31.

Klusener attempted to play the fourth ball towards long-on and attempted a single, but a mix-up saw partner Allan Donald run out.

Australia’s Head says Coetzee hit a ‘blessing in disguise’

Australian players celebrated as they moved into the final because of a higher group stage finish and skipper Steve Waugh called it “the most exciting match” he ever played.

Waugh special - August 16, 2000

One year later after the Edgbaston tie, Steve Waugh starred in Australia’s convincing win over the Proteas in cricket’s first indoor match played at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium with a retractable roof.

Invited to bat first, Australia rode on centuries from Michael Bevan (106) and Waugh (114 not out) to score 295-5.

Fast bowlers Ian Harvey, Shane Lee and spin great Shane Warne combined to bowl out the opposition for 201 and win by 94 runs.

Australia ‘peaking at right time’ at World Cup, says Starc

Only 12 ODI matches have been played at the multi-sport Docklands Stadium, which is home to Big Bash League side Melbourne Renegades.

Gibbs epic - March 12, 2006

South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs entered the record books with his 175 off 111 balls in an epic ODI clash with Australia which produced 872 runs in 99.5 overs of intense drama in Johannesburg.

In the fifth and deciding match of the bi-lateral contest, Australia had put up a record total of 434-4 in 50 overs courtesy of captain Ricky Ponting’s 105-ball 164.

South Africa were one down when Gibbs came out to put on 187 runs with skipper Graeme Smith, who made 90.

Gibbs departed in the 32nd over with the Proteas on 299-4 before Mark Boucher hit an unbeaten 50 and steered the team to victory with one ball to spare.

Aussies rule - April 25, 2007

The South Africans failed to shrug off their “chokers” tag at Gros Islet, St Lucia in the West Indies when they went down to Australia tamely in a World Cup semi-final.

The Graeme Smith-led South African team had played good cricket and beat hosts West Indies and England en route to the semis.

South Africa batted first only to be bowled out for 149 as Australian pace duo of Glenn McGrath and Shaun Tait wreaked havoc with seven wickets between them.

McGrath was named match of the match for his figures of 3-18 before Matthew Hayden (41) and Michael Clarke (60 not out) scored the bulk of the runs with seven wickets and 111 balls to spare.

Chase-master Miller - October 5, 2016

David Miller’s unbeaten 118 trumped an Australian team with two centuries in their innings from David Warner and Steve Smith as South Africa chased down a victory target of 372 with four balls to spare.

Left-handed middle-order batsman Miller put on an unbeaten stand of 107 with Andile Phehlukwayo to punish the Australian bowlers including Adam Zampa and Mitchell Marsh.

KOLKATA: Australia opener Travis Head made a late entry into the World Cup after recovering from a fractured hand but on Tuesday said the injury was a “blessing in disguise”.

Five-time winners Australia take on South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday where Head will renew his rivalry with fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, whose ball caused the damage.

A Coetzee rising delivery struck Head on the left arm in the third one-day international of Australia’s tour of South Africa in September and scans revealed a fracture.

Australia ‘peaking at right time’ at World Cup, says Starc

Head was in danger of missing the World Cup but Australia kept him in the squad until he was fit to play in the team’s sixth league match where he hit a match-winning century against New Zealand.

Reminded about facing Coetzee, who has claimed 18 wickets in seven matches at the tournament, Head said injuries are part and parcel of sport.

“I said to Gerald at the time I’m sure he didn’t mean to hit me in the hand. It was probably aimed a little bit higher than that,” Head, a left-hand batsman, joked.

“But that’s all part of the game. So I take a relaxed approach to all that sort of stuff whether it’s performance or injuries.”

He said: “He did me a favour, I got four weeks at home with the family, so I got refreshed to come back. And hopefully I can be refreshed and energised and can perform at the back end of the tournament. It might be a blessing in disguise.”

Head smashed a 67-ball 109 in the must-win match against New Zealand but misfired in the next three with scores of 11, 0 and 10.

Head, 29, said his style is not all-out attack. He is just as content playng the waiting game as well.

“I feel like I try and give myself the best chance to score off balls that I feel like I can and respect the ones in between,” he said.

“I think you have to do that. It’s international cricket, so I don’t think it’s all guns blazing every time.

“So it’s a balancing act. I feel like I’m in a good mindset to give myself the best chance to be as positive as I can be.”

Australia won seven straight matches in the league stage and remain two wins away from their sixth title.

“I’m sure everyone has thought about that,” Head said. “It hasn’t really been spoken about as a group, but we know what’s at the end of this tournament and what’s up for grabs.”

Head has played 62 ODIs for Australia since his debut in 2016 and scored 2,194 runs.

MUMBAI: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said his side’s experience of playing in front of partisan crowds would serve them well when they face hosts India in a blockbuster World Cup semi-final.

A capacity crowd of over 33,000 is expected at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium – the home ground of India captain Rohit Sharma – for Wednesday’s clash

New Zealand, losing finalists at the last two World Cups but yet to lift the trophy, knocked India out at the semi-final stage in a rain-affected two-day clash in Manchester four years ago.

Bad weather, however, is unlikely to be an issue in Mumbai and while India had plenty of support at Old Trafford, star batsman Williamson knows that will be as nothing compared to the passionate backing they’ll have on Wednesday.

New Zealand’s Ravindra relishing ‘dream’ World Cup clash with India

When a reporter told Williamson during a pre-match press conference on Tuesday that the capacity of the Wankhede is 33,108 and “33 of them will be in blue (India’s colour),” he jokingly replied: “There’ll be more than that.”

Williamson, who knows India well from playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League, added: “We’re expecting a fairly blue crowd that will be supporting their team.

“We remember over the years, a number of different crowds that we’ve had that haven’t always been your own fans.

“We have got a small country that doesn’t always fill out the stadiums but you still appreciate the atmosphere it brings.

Cricket World Cup: India v New Zealand head-to-head record

“Not many people get that opportunity, cricket in India, playing against India in a World Cup semi-final, is special and something to appreciate and look forward to.”

Williamson is particularly glad to be involved after fearing he might not make it to the World Cup before a freak injury threatened to cut short his participation.

After spending nearly seven months out with a serious knee injury, he missed New Zealand’s opening wins over champions England and the Netherlands.

He marked his comeback with 78 not out during an eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Chennai only to suffer a broken left thumb following a wayward throw while running between the wickets.

The 33-year-old then missed several more games before returning with 95 against Pakistan in Bengaluru.

‘Frustrating’

“An interesting journey for sure,” said Williamson.

“From sort of it not being a chance (of playing at the World Cup) to getting close and it becoming a reality and something to target…Then to get back and then break my thumb. It was quite frustrating and testing.”

But a 10-team round-robin event gave Williamson hope he could still feature later on in the tournament.

“I still felt it hadn’t ruled me out, so I was grateful for that and it’s nice to be sitting here.”

India defeated New Zealand by four wickets in a hard-fought pool match in Dharamsala last month but Williamson played down the impact of that fixture and the 2019 semi-final ahead of Wednesday’s clash.

“They (India) are a side that’s been playing extremely well, but we also know come finals time, everything sort of starts again.”

Williamson was more forthcoming about New Zealand rising star Rachin Ravindra, with the 23-year-old left-handed opener having already scored three hundreds at his debut World Cup.

“He’s burst onto the scene and in a big way,” said Williamson.

“It’s not just the volume of runs that he’s achieved so far, but how he’s been scoring them and how it’s been geared towards trying to move the team forward.”

KOLKATA: Pat Cummins is unsure whether he will continue as Australia’s one-day international captain after the World Cup but is looking to return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) next season in preparation for the Twenty20 showpiece.

Test skipper Cummins, who will lead Australia into their semi-final against South Africa on

Thursday, took on the ODI role with an eye firmly on the World Cup when Aaron Finch retired from the format last year.

The paceman said he was “potentially” interested in staying on after the tournament but that the decision would rest with coach Andrew McDonald and head selector George Bailey’s assessment of his workload and Australia’s priorities.

“We’ve been pretty open, me and Andrew and George around different times in the year you’re going to have different priorities,” Cummins told reporters in Kolkata.

“After here, the focus shifts back to test cricket for a fair while. Probably like we’ve done in the past, at times white-ball cricket is going to have to shift so we fully focus on test cricket. So yeah, there’s no end date in sight.

“I feel like I’ve been managed really well and looked after, albeit in a really, really busy year where you don’t really want to give up any cricket.”

Taylor says favourites India will be nervous about facing Black Caps

The captaincy of the T20 side was vacated when Finch retired from all international cricket in February but Mitch Marsh is favourite to claim that role ahead of the World Cup in the Caribbean and US next June.

Cummins is keen to play a full part in that tournament, however, and signalled a return to the IPL next year after skipping it this year because of his busy schedule.

“I feel like I haven’t played a heap of T20 cricket and in some ways I feel like I haven’t played my best T20 cricket for a little while,” Cummins added.

“I’m really excited, I’m probably going to go into the IPL auction for next year to try to get some games before that World Cup and push a case to not only make the side but get back to how I feel like I can bowl in T20 cricket.”

BENGALURU: India are favourites heading into their World Cup semi-final against New Zealand but the hosts will be nervous about facing a side who are at their most dangerous when they have nothing to lose, former Black Caps skipper Ross Taylor said.

Taylor was part of the New Zealand team that dashed India’s hopes in the 2019 semi-final at Old Trafford and the 39-year-old backed them to cause another upset in Mumbai on Wednesday that would send them into a third consecutive final.

“Four years ago India went into the semi-final in Manchester as the form side in the tournament while we were more focused on ensuring our net run-rate would keep Pakistan out of reach for the final spot in the top four,” Taylor wrote in his ICC column.

New Zealand’s Ferguson says ‘we all start from zero’ in India semi-final

“This time around, India are even bigger favourites, at home and having played so well during the group stage.

“But when we have nothing to lose, New Zealand teams can be dangerous. If there is a team that India will be nervous facing, it will be this New Zealand side.”

India are the only side to win all nine of their group matches this year, including a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in Dharamsala, but Taylor said conditions would be different at the batter-friendly Wankhede Stadium.

“When India are batting, you want to get them two or three down in the first 10 overs to put them under pressure. They rely heavily on an excellent top three,” Taylor said.

“There’s Shubman Gill, the number one player in the world, and then Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. We need to try to make inroads and put the middle-order under pressure. “If you can do that, it stifles them and affects how early they can assert their dominance.

“When they’re bowling, it’s similar. You want to score runs but it’s also vital we keep wickets in hand against weapons like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.”

MUMBAI: Lockie Ferguson insisted New Zealand’s rocky road to a World Cup semi-final against in-form India in Mumbai on Wednesday was of no concern as “we all start from zero again”.

Tournament hosts India have been the form side of the 10-team event, winning all nine of their group matches, as they bid for a third World Cup title and second on home soil following their 2011 final triumph over Sri Lanka in Mumbai.

New Zealand by contrast, won their opening four games of the round-robin stage only to lose the next four before ending pool play with a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.

The Blackcaps may not have yet won a men’s one-day international World Cup but they are proven tournament performers, having reached both the 2015 and 2019 finals, with Wednesday’s match their ninth semi-final appearance in the 13-edition history of the competition.

India set for New Zealand clash at ‘pointy end’ of World Cup

“We had a couple of close games I guess that didn’t quite go our way,” New Zealand fast bowler Ferguson told reporters at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

“And a rain-affected one (where New Zealand were beaten on the DLS method by Pakistan despite scoring over 400 themselves).”

He added: “But I guess from our point of view those nine games have got us to this position and we kind of all start from zero again. So come Wednesday, it’ll be a good challenge.”

India have steamrollered several opponents on their way to a last-four clash at captain Rohit Sharma’s home ground.

But they were made to work for their four-wicket win over New Zealand, with Daryl Mitchell scoring 130 in a total of 273, before India made 274-6 in reply to win with two overs to spare.

New Zealand might have scored over 300 had it not been for in-form paceman Mohammed Shami’s return of 5-54.

“It’s a strong attack,” said Ferguson, who played alongside Shami at Indian Premier League side Gujarat.

‘Tighten up’

But Ferguson, top of New Zealand’s tournament bowling averages with 10 wickets at under 24 apiece, said: “I think all four teams in the knockout stages (Australia and South Africa meet in Thursday’s second semi-final in Kolkata) have got a very good pace attack, with good spinners.”

He added: “It was a hard-fought game (against India).

“Playing India, there’s a lot of ebbs and flows. It’s not going to be any different come this game. We’ve just got to tighten up as much as we can.”

New Zealand caused India’s World Cup downfall in England four years ago, winning by just 18 runs in a Manchester semi-final spanning two days because of rain.

“I’ve never played a one-day game over two days, it was literally not even in the title,” said the 32-year-old Ferguson, one of several survivors from that match who are set to be involved in this week’s last-four clash.

“That was obviously very pleasing for us at the time but four years have gone past, we’ve played a lot of cricket in between and both teams I’m sure are raring to go come Wednesday.”

KOLKATA: Mitchell Starc on Monday said Australia have lived up to their reputation of “peaking at the right time” after overcoming a shaky start to win seven straight World Cup matches.

The five-time champions take on South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday after the two teams ended on 14 points each in the group stage.

Australia lost a one-day series in South Africa followed by a series defeat to India ahead of the World Cup.

They then suffered opening defeats at the tournament to the hosts by six wickets and the Proteas by a huge 134 runs.

Marsh’s hundred ensures Australia cruise past Bangladesh

“It’s been quite busy, the guys who were in Africa as well, I think we counted it’s like our 15th flight since we’ve been in India,” Starc said on the gruelling schedule.

“For the guys who were in Africa as well, it’s been a jam-packed 10 or 11 weeks. It’s a World Cup, it’s what we play for. We seem to be peaking at the right time which Australia tend to do in tournament play.”

The left arm-quick added: “Whilst we didn’t start the way we wanted to, we’ve certainly had good contributions from individuals along the way and we find ourselves in another World Cup semi-final.”

Australia have been the most successful team in the World Cup with title wins in the 1987 (India), 1999 (England), 2003 (South Africa), 2007 (West Indies) and 2015 (Australia and New Zealand) editions.

They were runners-up in the inaugural edition in 1975 and then again in 1996, reached the quarter-finals in 2011 and lost to eventual winners England in the 2019 semi-finals.

Australia to take late call on Maxwell for World Cup clash with Bangladesh

Starc, who was part of Australia’s 2015 ODI and 2021 T20 World Cup triumphs, said the experienced team will not be overawed by Thursday’s occasion at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens.

‘Calm group’

“Whether it’s goosebumps or not, it’s just another game,” he said. “I’ve played a lot of one-day cricket…(performing in big matches) is not something that’s really spoken about.

“It’s a very calm group, this one, and fairly experienced with a couple of younger, less experienced guys gelling in really nicely.”

Australia have beaten South Africa twice in World Cup semi-finals in 1999 and 2007. Both times they went on to win the title.

Starc, 33, and a veteran of 119 one-day internationals, was the leading bowler in the World Cups of 2015 and 2019 with 22 and 27 wickets respectively.

In all, he has 230 wickets in the format.

He and fellow quick Pat Cummins have 10 wickets each in the tournament so far with teammate and leg-spinner Adam Zampa leading the bowling charts with 22.

The lack of reverse swing, due to two balls being used in each innings at the World Cup, appears to be one of the factors for Starc’s lack of wickets.

“There’s a lot of contributing factors,” he said. “The wickets have certainly been two very different wickets, what gets through the day and through the night.

“Speed is not the be-all and end-all over here in India as well. How you go about that tactically, and whether it’s variations or what time you bowl through a game, or whether you win or lose a toss (can affect potency).”

“I certainly haven’t been at the level that I would have liked. But now there’s a chance at the pointy end to make the biggest impact.”

Starc, who missed a lot of cricket after the Ashes due a shoulder and groin injury, did not reveal the reason for sitting out the last match against Bangladesh.

“If I only played when I was 100 per cent, I would have probably played 10 games,” he said.

“All bowlers around the world deal with stuff, we just don’t have to talk about it like batters do.”

NEW DELHI: India’s Virender Sehwag, Sri Lankan batsman Aravinda de Silva and pioneering Indian women’s captain Diana Edulji have been inducted into cricket’s Hall of Fame, the game’s governing body announced Monday.

They will be honoured at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during the World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand on Wednesday.

The International Cricket Council has recognised 109 players in the ICC Cricket Hall Of Fame since its launch in 2009.

De Silva, 58, enjoyed a 19-year international career for Sri Lanka, playing a starring role in their memorable World Cup triumph in 1996.

In 93 Tests, he scored 6,361 runs at an average of 42.97 and collected 9,284 runs from 308 ODIs while taking 106 wickets.

De Silva made his Test debut at Lord’s in 1984, and a year later scored 75 as Sri Lanka recorded its first-ever Test win against India.

In 1991, he struck a then-national record individual score of 267 against New Zealand at Wellington.

Sehwag, 45, played a key part in India’s World Cup winning campaign at home in 2011, and scored over 17,000 runs in international cricket during a stellar 14-year career.

He transformed the opener’s role in Test cricket through his trademark explosive approach to batting.

India set for New Zealand clash at ‘pointy end’ of World Cup

Edulji, who became the first Indian woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, played a pioneering role in establishing the most successful domestic team in Indian women’s cricket history.

A right-handed batter and slow left-arm bowler, Edulji took 109 wickets in Test and ODIs.

When she retired after the World Cup in 1993, she had taken more wickets in international cricket than anyone except Australia’s Lyn Fullston.

“These three figures have revolutionised the sport in their own way, and have provided fans with some of the most unforgettable moments in recent memory,” ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement.

“Their lasting contributions to cricket mean they are richly deserving of their status in the ICC Hall of Fame.”

MUMBAI: India may be the outstanding team at the World Cup but coach Rahul Dravid has warned Wednesday’s semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai represents the “pointy end in a tournament”.

Sunday’s 160-run defeat of the Netherlands left hosts India with a perfect played nine, won nine record – the first time any side had achieved such a feat at a World Cup featuring a round-robin format.

India are well-stocked in all departments, with star man Virat Kohli the tournament’s leading batsman with 594 runs and captain Rohit Sharma not far behind on 503.

The experienced duo have scored three hundreds between them, while the likes of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul both appear to be coming into form at the right time following their centuries against the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, India boast a formidable fast-bowling line-up in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.

If successful teams are fortunate as well as good, then India certainly had a lucky break when an injury to all-rounder Hardik Pandya paved the way for Shami’s return, with the experienced seamer having since taken 16 wickets in five matches at a stunningly low average of under 10.

In addition spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are also capable of taking wickets without being flogged for runs.

And yet the fact remains India have been waiting since a 2011 triumph over Sri Lanka in Mumbai to win a third World Cup title, while their last major piece of silverware was the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Four years ago, New Zealand defeated India by just 18 runs in a rain-affected World Cup semi-final in Manchester that spanned two days, with the Black Caps also beating India in the inaugural 2021 World Test Championship final.

Five of the India side who featured in the 2019 semi-final – Rohit, Kohli, Rahul, Bumrah and Jadeja – are set to be involved again on Wednesday.

“You’re at a pointy end in a tournament now,” said Dravid.

“There is going to be certain amount of pressure but I think the way we have responded to the pressure so far gives us a lot of belief.”

Dravid’s argument is supported by the manner of India’s four-wicket win against New Zealand in the group stage at Dharamsala last month.

Despite Daryl Mitchell’s 130, India held New Zealand to 273, with Shami taking 5-54 before Kohli made 95 and Jadeja, demonstrating his big-match temperament, a valuable 39 not out.

‘Leading by example’

Wednesday’s match takes place at Rohit’s Wankhede Stadium home ground, where India bowled out Sri Lanka for just 55 to win by 302 runs in the group stage, with the aggressive 36-year-old opener leading from the front at what could be his last World Cup.

“Rohit has certainly been a leader, without a doubt,” said India batting great Dravid. “He’s cracked open games for us.

Cricket World Cup: India v New Zealand head-to-head record

“We’ve talked about playing in a particular way. You cannot do that unless your leader really buys in and actually shows by example.”

New Zealand, in contrast to India, are in the semi-finals despite losing four of their nine group games.

But they now have a clean slate, with captain and key batsman Kane Williamson, following an injury-plagued tournament, returning to form with 95 on his comeback against Pakistan.

A proven pace trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson are capable of succeeding against even the strongest batting line-up, with miserly left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner (16 wickets at under 25) an often under-rated threat.

Runners-up at the last two World Cups, New Zealand also boast a break-out rising star in Rachin Ravindra, with the 23-year-old left-hander having already scored 565 runs.

The son of Indian-born parents, Ravindra is also the first New Zealander to compile three hundreds at a single World Cup, with his century on tournament debut against England followed by further three-figure scores against Australia and Pakistan.

“We’ll stay level, we’ll try our best. We know we can’t win every game of cricket…but we’ll see how it plays out.”

MUMBAI: India v New Zealand ODI record ahead of their World Cup semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Last 10 meetings:

05/02/2020: Hamilton - New Zealand won by 4 wickets

08/02/2020: Auckland - New Zealand won by 22 runs

11/02/2020: Mount Maunganui - New Zealand won by 5 wickets

25/11/2022: Auckland - New Zealand won by 7 wickets

27/11/2022: Mount Maunganui - No Result

30/11/2022: Christchurch - No Result

18/01/2023: Hyderabad - India won by 12 runs

21/01/2023: Raipur - India won by 8 wickets

24/01/2023: Indore - India won by 90 runs

22/10/2023: Dharamsala - India won by 4 wickets

Overall

India wins: 59

New Zealand wins: 50

Tied: 1

No Result: 7

NEW DELHI: After almost six weeks of huge totals, shock wins, heartbreaking losses, records and controversies, the group stage of the Cricket World Cup ended on Sunday.

Ahead of the semi-finals, which get underway on Wednesday, AFP Sport looks at 10 highlights from the opening round:

South Africa, Markram in fast lane

The tournament was just two days old when South Africa’s Aiden Markram smashed the fastest World Cup century off 49 balls against Sri Lanka in New Delhi.

His team also entered the record books with the highest ever tournament total of 428 in a 102-run win.

Markram says South Africa’s cricketers ‘inspired’ by Springboks

Markram’s blitz bettered the 50 balls Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien needed to hit a 100 against England in Bengaluru in 2011.

However, Markram said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if his record was beaten by the end of the tournament. He was proved right by Glenn Maxwell just 18 days later.

Pakistan’s record chase

Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique made centuries as Pakistan chased down the highest target in World Cup history to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in Hyderabad.

Rizwan overcame leg cramps to score 131 not out while Shafique hit 113 as Pakistan overhauled their 345-run target.

Muhammad Rizwan soldiered on for Pakistan with ‘magic’ cramp fix

Sri Lanka’s imposing total of 344-9 was built around brilliant hundreds from Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama.

Afghanistan, Netherlands make mark

Afghanistan pulled off one of the greatest World Cup shocks when they defeated defending champions England by 69 runs in New Delhi.

Chasing 285 to win, after opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz had hit a blistering 80, England were bowled out for 215 with spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan claiming three wickets each.

Eight days later in Chennai, Afghanistan chased down 283 to shock neighbours Pakistan with Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah and Gurbaz all scoring fifties.

Afghanistan’s Gurbaz rapped by ICC for angry outburst

In between, the Netherlands exploited South Africa’s dislike of chasing by stunning the Proteas by 38 runs in what Dutch media described as “the miracle of Dharamsala”.

Record-breaker Maxwell – part 1

Maxwell took Markram’s fastest World Cup century record by hitting a 41-ball hundred in Australia’s 309-run rout of the Netherlands at New Delhi.

Australia made 399-8 before the Dutch were dismissed for just 90 in 21 overs.

Australia to take late call on Maxwell for World Cup clash with Bangladesh

Maxwell’s ton was also the fourth fastest century in all ODIs. South Africa’s AB de Villiers leads the way with his 31-ball century against the West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015.

Australia, New Zealand run festival

Australia edged out New Zealand by just five runs in the highest-scoring World Cup game in history in Dharamsala.

Australia scored 388 as Travis Head top-scored with 109 and fellow opener David Warner made 81.

New Zealand battled hard with Rachin Ravindra making 116.

Retiring Warner key for Australia’s World Cup title hopes

With a total of 771 runs, it was the highest scoring game at a World Cup, beating the 754 scored in South Africa’s win against Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament.

India add to Sri Lanka woes

Mohammed Shami took five wickets as Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 55 as India secured a semi-final place with a colossal 302-run win in Mumbai.

Sri Lanka’s woeful innings featured five noughts, with both their openers falling for golden ducks as they flopped in pursuit of 358.

Fakhar’s fireworks

Fakhar Zaman cracked a blistering century in a rain-affected and dramatic 21-run victory for Pakistan over New Zealand at Bengaluru.

The left-hander smashed 11 sixes and eight boundaries in his unbeaten 81-ball 126 as rain forced a premature end to the match with Pakistan 200-1 after 25.3 overs.

Rachin Ravindra hit his third century of the tournament while Kane Williamson scored 95 to help New Zealand pile up 401-6 in their 50 overs.

King Kohli

Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 one-day international hundreds as India bowled out South Africa for just 83 in a 243-run rout with the superstar hailing his achievement as “the stuff of dreams”.

Kohli, on his 35th birthday, got to the landmark in 119 balls, including 10 fours, at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens which was packed with around 70,000 fans.

Kohli, Rahul lead India out of peril to beat Australia at World Cup

It had taken him 277 innings to score 49 hundreds at this level compared to the more than 450 required by fellow India 2011 World Cup-winner Tendulkar.

Timed-out controversy

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews branded Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan as “disgraceful” after he became the first player in 146 years of international cricket to be given “timed out”.

Mathews was adjudged to be out after failing to take strike within the two-minute time limit when he came out to bat in New Delhi. Shakib refused to withdraw the appeal.

“I had to take a decision to make sure that my team wins,” he said.

Record-breaker Maxwell – part 2

Australia captain Pat Cummins described it as “the greatest one-day innings ever played” as Glenn Maxwell’s stunning 201 not out guided Australia into the semi-finals in a sensational three-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Mumbai.

At 91-7, chasing 292, Australia were staring at defeat before Maxwell’s 128-ball innings which featured 21 fours and 10 sixes as he became just the third batsman to score a World Cup double century.

He achieved the mark despite battling cramps and back spasms which meant he was reduced to hobbling pace while Afghanistan were left to rue Mujeeb Ur Rahman dropping a simple catch when Maxwell had made just 33.

MUMBAI: Rohit Sharma’s boyhood cricket coach says he will be the “richest person in the world” if the India captain lifts the World Cup – despite never charging for a training session.

Dinesh Lad, a former railway worker and cricketer, has helped mould dozens of players during a 30-year coaching career, including Rohit and India team-mate Shardul Thakur.

Lad has done this mainly while operating as the coach at the Swami Vivekanand International School in Borivali, a northwestern suburb of Mumbai far removed from the city’s famous cricket nurseries such as the Oval Maidan or Shivaji Park.

But whether they have gone on to international honours or not, all of his charges have had one thing in common.

“I never took money from anybody (for cricket). I never took money from any parent,” Lad told AFP during an interview at the school on Sunday.

Rohit, 36, is set to lead India in a World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, with Lad saying: “I’m the happiest person in the world.

“And if I saw the (World Cup) trophy in his hands, then I must be the richest person in the world.”

Rohit, averaging nearly 56 at the World Cup, is the only man to have scored three double-centuries in one-day internationals.

But it was his bowling that captured Lad’s attention when he first saw the 12-year-old playing against his school team during a summer camp in May 1999.

“They were just 10-over games. They (Rohit’s side) scored about 67 in 10 overs and we chased that down in seven or eight overs.

“But in that time I saw Rohit’s off-spin – not batting – the way he bowled…in just two overs he only conceded five or six runs and took one wicket.”

Immediately impressed, Lad wanted to bring Rohit, then living with his uncle, into the school team and arranged a meeting with the director (headmaster).

“I told him ‘your nephew is very good at cricket’.

But there was a problem.

“His uncle asked me about the fees, which were 275 rupees ($3.30) per month. Immediately, he said ‘we cannot afford that’.

‘Very poor’

“So I went to the director and said to him ‘Sir the boy is very poor but he’s very talented’, please give him a freeship (the equivalent of a scholarship). And then Rohit came to this school.”

But it wasn’t until a few years later Lad realised he had a batsman on his hands.

Iyer, Rahul tons keep India perfect as Kohli, Rohit take World Cup wickets

“One day I saw a boy at the gate before training, just playing with a straight bat,” said Lad. “So I thought ’who is this? and then I saw it was Rohit.”

Lad wasted little time in promoting Rohit to his now familiar position of opener.

“In that particular match, he scored 140. After that, there was no stopping him. He was a natural batsman, I didn’t have to teach him anything.”

Lad said that what also stood out about the young Rohit was his will to win.

“We were chasing 240 to win and were 30-4. I sent him a message, ‘you have to keep batting or we are out of the tournament’.

“So he sends a reply via the 12th man: ‘Tell Sir, don’t worry we are going to win the match’. He’s a very confident boy.”

Having been persuaded to start coaching by a friend in 1993, Lad reckons he has guided 90 players into various strands of Mumbai youth cricket and the senior Ranji Trophy team.

‘Second parent’

That list includes his son Siddhesh, now a batsman with Goa, while Shardul refers to Lad as a “second parent”.

Sunday’s session saw 22-year-old batsman Suved Parkar, who scored 252 on his first-class debut for Mumbai last year, back where it all began.

As a young cricketer Lad came under the influence of the late Ramakant Achrekar, the mentor of India great Sachin Tendulkar, and he too has received the Dronacharya Award, a national honour for sports coaching.

But with his reputation now worldwide, a video tribute from former South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, whose son Thando was coached by Lad, is an equally prized possession.

Ntini, having thanked Lad for improving the batting and bowling of Thando, himself now a paceman in South African domestic cricket, adds: “It’s been an absolute honour to see the love you are giving my son.

“You are not doing it for the sake of being a coach, you are doing it for the love of the game.”

KOLKATA: Pakistan captain Babar Azam was described as “depressed” and under pressure to save his job Sunday after the team crashed out of the Cricket World Cup, failing to make the semi-finals for a second successive tournament.

A 93-run loss to England sealed Pakistan’s fate, ending the 1992 champions’ already slim hopes of squeezing into the last four.

Former Pakistan captain and ex-chairman of the country’s cricket board Ramiz Raja said that 29-year-old Azam was “depressed” over the reaction at home.

Fans’ anger would have been made more acute by seeing arch-rivals India sweeping to eight wins out of eight, becoming the first team to reach the semi-finals.

Azam’s team lost five of their nine games including a seven-wicket mauling by India in front of more than 100,000 fans in Ahmedabad.

That was India’s eighth victory in eight World Cup games against their neighbours.

Pakistan also lost to Afghanistan for the first time.

Azam made 320 runs at the World Cup with four fifties at an average of 40 and remains the world’s second highest-ranked batsman. He has almost 13,000 runs in all international cricket.

However, it was his captaincy in India, which was questioned when he faced accusations of lacking aggression in field settings.

Pakistan media consistently accused him of favouring his friends in selection.

“I get behind Babar. Babar is very, very close to me. He’s a young guy that needs to be taken on the journey, he needs to be shown the ropes,” said Pakistan’s director of cricket Mickey Arthur.

‘Time to grow’

Azam has been captain of the Test and ODI teams since 2020.

“He’s still learning all the time. We know he’s a very, very fine batsman. He learns every day with his captaincy,” added Arthur.

“We have to allow him the time to grow. And in order to do that, you make mistakes. It’s not a crime to make mistakes as long as you learn from those mistakes.”

Babar Azam denies Pakistan captaincy has affected his form at World Cup

Despite the despondency of fans at home, Azam and his team found sympathy in India.

Only a smattering of Pakistan fans – mostly expatriates – were at the venues as visa complications effectively meant a ban on those wishing to cross the border.

As a Pakistan squad playing in India for the first time in seven years, they were virtually confined to hotel rooms once playing and training commitments were completed.

Security details would accompany players and squad members if they wanted to venture outside their hotel.

Arthur compared the situation to touring “in Covid times”.

Raja believes that Azam may become the first victim of bloodletting in a Pakistan cricketing environment often plagued by infighting. “There’s so much pressure on him that he may leave the job,” Raja told the BBC’s Test Match Special.

“Back home there has obviously been a massive backlash, as expected. The Pakistan media have targeted certain players, and especially Babar Azam.

“It’s just a World Cup so you have to take the heat somehow. The problem with this team is it has the potential to play modern-day cricket but they have been a bit shy and timid with their approach.”

BENGALURU: Centuries from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul powered India to a 160-run World Cup win over the Netherlands on Sunday as they completed the group stage with a perfect nine wins in nine games.

Iyer (128 not out) and Rahul (102) put on 208 runs to guide India to 410-4.

India then employed nine bowlers, including part-timers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, to dismiss the Dutch for 250 in the tournament’s concluding league match in Bengaluru.

New Zealand’s Ravindra relishing ‘dream’ World Cup clash with India

The hosts will face New Zealand in the first semi-final in Mumbai on Wednesday followed by the second last-four clash between Australia and South Africa the next day in Kolkata.

Iyer smashed his first World Cup ton in a match where all the top-five Indian batsmen went past the fifty mark on a batting-friendly pitch.

He reached his hundred – his fourth in ODI cricket – off 84 balls. He ended with 10 fours and five sixes.

Bengaluru-born Rahul raced to his ton with two sixes for the fastest Indian hundred in World Cups off 62 balls.

He departed four balls later as India fell short of their highest ever World Cup total of 413-5 v Bermuda in 2007.

Kohli reached his half century but fell for 51, silencing the crowd who had been anticipating the star batsman’s 50th ODI ton after he equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 in the team’s previous win over South Africa.

Skipper Rohit, who hit 61, and Shubman Gill laid the foundations for the total in an opening stand of 100 with the pair hitting regular boundaries.

Gill fell for 51 off Paul van Meekeren and fellow quick Bas de Leede dismissed Rohit after the captain reached his fourth 50-plus score including a ton in the tournament.

Bas overtook his father Tim de Leede, who took 14 wicket for the Dutch in the World Cup, and claimed one more to finish as the highest World Cup wicket-taker for his nation with 16 scalps.

The in-form Kohli reached the 71st ODI fifty of his career only to be bowled four balls later by Roelof van der Merwe’s left-arm spin.

Kohli surpassed South Africa’s Quinton de Kock (591) as the leading batsman of the 2023 tournament with 594 runs.

Iyer kept up his blazing form to register his fourth successive score of 50 and above in the tournament and received support from the other end with Rahul joining the charge.

In reply, the Dutch were never in the chase and kept losing regular wickets including Kohli striking with the his gentle medium-pace to claim a first ODI wicket in nine years.

With the Dutch crawling in their reply, Rohit threw the ball to Kohli who sent back opposition captain Scott Edwards, caught behind in his second over off a ball drifting down the leg side.

It was only Kohli’s fifth career ODI wicket from his gentle medium-pace and first since 2014.

Sybrand Engelbrecht made 45 and Teja Nidamanuru hit 54 before the innings folded in 47.5 overs with Rohit ending using his part-time off spin to send back Nidamanuru.

Rohit last picked an ODI wicket in 2012 and this was only his 10th career wicket.

New Zealand’s in-form batsman Rachin Ravindra is relishing the prospect of going head-to-head with World Cup hosts India in Mumbai on Wednesday when the Black Caps take on Rohit Sharma’s side with a place in next Sunday’s final at stake.

The two nations will face off at the Wankhede Stadium with Ravindra having emerged as one of the stand-out players in his first World Cup, hitting 565 runs in nine innings to sit second on the list of leading scorers at the tournament so far.

“You dream of playing against a full crowd against India, who have gone unbeaten at Wankhede, a ground with so much history,” said Ravindra, who will turn 24 the day before the final.

“We’ll stay level, we’ll try our best. We know we can’t win every game of cricket…but we’ll see how it plays out.”

Ravindra has made a major impact for New Zealand with the bat, hitting a century against England in his first appearance at the tournament before also reaching triple figures against Australia and Pakistan.

New Zealand’s Ravindra exceeds own expectations at World Cup

Born in New Zealand to Indian parents, he said it had been “surreal” to hear his name chanted by local crowds as he became the first New Zealander to hit three centuries in a World Cup, a feat that earned him the ICC’s Player of the Month award.

“I’m very honoured,” he said of the award.

“If you look at the names nominated on that list it’s pretty special to be among the greats of the game.

“I don’t necessarily play for personal accolades but the recognition is always nice from the governing body. “Doing it for the team, that’s the beauty of it. You might end up with that award a few times in your career but I think if you’re contributing to winning cricket, that’s what matters to me.”

England’s One-Day International setup will not undergo a major overhaul despite a dismal World Cup campaign, captain Jos Buttler said after his side’s consolation victory over Pakistan on Saturday.

Their title defence long over after suffering six defeats in their first seven matches, England finished the campaign in India with a comprehensive 93-run win over the 1992 champions at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

With the win, they climbed to seventh place in the points table and secured a place in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan. “It’s not going to be a drastic change of playing style, like 2015. We know where we need to go,” Buttler said.

“That doesn’t mean a huge clear-out, it’s just pushing on from here.”

Winners of the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia last year, England hold both the global white-ball trophies but failed to impress in the subcontinent.

However, their white-ball coach, Matthew Mott, insisted he remains the right man to lead England. When asked if he expected to keep his job, Mott told reporters: “Absolutely, I do.

We’ve had a poor tournament, but we’ve got a lot to look forward to.

I haven’t even spoken about it, but yes, I’m pretty confident.

“It hasn’t been a great tournament for everyone but there’s plenty of teams which are going to go from here very disappointed with their performance as well. There’s only one team that can win it. I’m comfortable in my skin.”

England send Pakistan crashing out of World Cup with thumping win

The Australian also backed Buttler to continue the captaincy.

White-ball stalwart Buttler has not managed a single half-century in nine games.

“I think he’s got a great future. You judge leadership in times that are tough, and he’s continually tried to motivate the boys,” Mott said. “He’s clearly disappointed with his own contribution, but none of that has affected the way he’s led the team.

“I’ve been really impressed by the way he’s kept the team together. He’s a player who is immensely talented and will bounce back.”

BENGALURU: Netherlands’ Ryan Cook on Saturday said fellow coaches of other teams have approached him to fit the Dutch into their cricket schedule after an eye-catching show in the World Cup.

The Netherlands play table-toppers India in the tournament’s last league match in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The Dutch made an early impact at the tournament when they shocked high-flying South Africa.

The team, led by Scott Edwards and built around mostly foreign-born players, also defeated Bangladesh.

Maxwell, Warner star as Australia hand Dutch record World Cup rout

However, they sit bottom of the 10-team table before their ninth and final league game.

“I have actually had a few teams’ coaches approach me and ask about our schedule and how potentially they could fit into their schedule, so that bodes well,” South African-born Cook told reporters.

“We would obviously love to play as many teams as possible. We’ve shown that we can compete for long periods, and obviously by playing games against these teams, we’re going to be able to compete better for longer.”

Back home in the Netherlands, where sports such as football and tennis dominate headlines, cricket still struggles to be taken seriously.

Earlier in the tournament, fast bowler Logan van Beek criticised a Dutch TV show that made fun of the players.

But Cook said the mindset is changing after their World Cup show.

“It’s been streamed on TV for quite some time. It’s reaching a greater audience now and a lot more people are talking about it within the Netherlands,” said Cook.

“Lots of people are sending pictures and messages about having watch parties, which maybe only contain 50 or 60 people in comparison to the IPL fan box that I see here in April and May which are which are packed but that’s as big as it gets.”

Many of the Dutch players had to hold day jobs to sustain their passion, including fast bowler Paul Van Meekeren who became an Uber Eats driver during the 2020 Covid pandemic.

But playing T20 tournaments including the Indian Premier League would be the ideal scenario for them to ply their trade.

Former international Ryan ten Doeschate blazed a trail by playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011-2015 while current all-rounder Bas de Leede turned out for IPL franchise Mumbai Indians in the UAE ILT20 last year.

“IPL would be a great experience for our players and that would be sort of the next level,” said Cook.

“But even just any of the other leagues as well would be welcomed from the players’ point of view and obviously the experience that they can gain in that space.”

KOLKATA: The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), custodians of the game’s laws, said on Saturday that the umpires had made the correct call in declaring that Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews had “timed out” in his side’s World Cup clash against Bangladesh.

Mathews became the first player in international cricket to be dismissed for a time ruling after he failed to make himself ready within the stipulated two minutes to face Bangladesh captain and bowler Shakib Al Hasan, whose appeal led to Mathews’ exit.

The chin strap of Mathews’ helmet broke before he could take guard, and by the time a replacement helmet arrived from the Sri Lankan dressing room, the batter was judged to have overrun his time allowance.

Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka at World Cup after Mathews ‘timed out’ row

Mathews subsequently called Bangladesh “disgraceful” and said the umpires lacked common sense while dealing with the “equipment malfunction” in the Monday match in Delhi.

The MCC said Mathews should have drawn the umpires’ attention to his broken helmet instead of waiting for a new helmet to arrive.

“It appears that Mathews did not consult with the umpires, which a player would be expected to do when seeking new equipment,” the MCC said in a statement.

“Had he explained to the umpires what had happened and asked for time to get it sorted out, they might have allowed him to change the helmet, perhaps calling time and thus removing any possibility of being timed out.”

Shakib rejected offers from umpire Marais Erasmus to withdraw the appeal and stuck to his guns when Mathews also asked him to reconsider.

Mathews said it was unsafe to face a bowler with a defective helmet but the MCC said the batter should have involved the umpires to resolve the issue.

“Given that time had not been called, and that at the time of the appeal more than two minutes had elapsed, the umpires correctly gave Mathews out,” it said.

Sri Lanka are out of the tournament with two wins from nine matches, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended their membership citing government interference in the running of their board.

BENGALURU: Rohit Sharma was hailed on Saturday as a “fantastic” captain for leading India to a perfect eight wins from eight matches and a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

India play their last league match against the Netherlands in Bengaluru on Sunday before they move on to the semi-finals.

The hosts have remained unbeaten with impressive wins over arch-rivals Pakistan, defending champions England and most recently South Africa.

The 36-year-old Rohit, who may be in his last World Cup alongside 35-year-old Virat Kohli, has scored 442 runs including one century at a strike-rate of 122.77.

“Rohit has certainly been a leader without a doubt,” coach Rahul Dravid said on Saturday.

South Africa put record mauling by India behind them

“He’s led by example both on and off the field. There have been some games where it could have been tricky for us, but the fact that he’s been able to get us to those kinds of starts has literally cracked open the game.”

Dravid added: “He’s been fantastic in his batting, the leadership that he’s shown and taking on the game, in leading from the front.”

Rohit’s 131 against Afghanistan led the way and he followed it up with an 86 in the crushing win over Pakistan. The captain’s 87 remained key in a low-scoring game against England.

Rohit took over the captaincy from Kohli, who was removed from the job in 2021 without a world title under his leadership belt.

India have travelled an exhausting 12,000km (7,500 miles) on their World Cup journey and Dravid said the team has played good cricket across all venues.

‘Represented India fantastically’

“We’ve travelled the length and breadth of this country and played in eight venues. This is our ninth,” said Dravid.

“I think what this team has done really well is it has represented India fantastically. It’s played a really good brand of cricket.

“We know we have nine boxes to tick, and we’ve ticked eight.”

The cricket-mad nation of 1.4 billion people has been rooting for the hosts to end their world title drought stretching back to the 2013 Champions Trophy. India last won the World Cup at home in 2011.

The Netherlands have made an impact in the 10-team tournament after they stunned a high-flying South Africa. They also beat Bangladesh.

“I think the performances of teams like the Netherlands certainly go a long way in boosting the morale of a lot of the other associate nations. They can certainly compete, they’ve got some very good players,” said Dravid.

“And it’s quite inspiring to see that in spite of the challenges they face they’re able to compete at this level to play at this level.”

Asked to weigh on the Angelo Mathews “timed out” dismissal – a first ever in the 146-year history of international cricket – Dravid said there were no winners.

“You might not do it yourself. We might not do it, but you can’t blame somebody for following it because you put that in place and you have to give scope for that level of understanding of somebody,” said Dravid.

“Whether you choose to do it or not is completely your decision.”

Mathews branded Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan as “disgraceful” after he was adjudged to be out when he failed to take strike within the two-minute time limit when he came out to bat in New Delhi.

Shakib refused to withdraw the appeal.

KOLKATA: England sent Pakistan crashing out of the World Cup with a convincing 93-run win as Ben Stokes and David Willey helped their team end their miserable title defence on a high in Kolkata on Saturday.

Stokes, who came out of ODI retirement for the World Cup, scored 84 while Joe Root hit 60 to lift England to an impressive 337-9 in their 50 overs before Pakistan folded on 244 in 43.3 overs.

"It's nice to put in a good performance. It probably sinks in more right now. There's lots to reflect on," said England skipper Jos Buttler after his side failed to make the knockout round.

Babar Azam denies Pakistan captaincy has affected his form at World Cup

Willey, who already announced he will retire from international cricket after the World Cup, removed Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique (nought) and Fakhar Zaman (one) before dismissing Agha Salman for 51 to finish with 3-56.

With Salman's wicket, Willey also completed 100 wickets in his 73rd ODI.

Fellow fast bowler Gus Atkinson (2-45) had Babar Azam for 38, caught at short mid-wicket off a miscued pull to end the Pakistan skipper's below-par tournament on 320 runs with four fifties but without a century.

"Very disappointed with the performance of my team, all the players," admitted Azam.

Spinners Moeen Ali (2-60) and Adil Rashid (2-55) took care of the middle-order as only Salman defied the bowling with a fighting 45-ball knock studded with six boundaries and a six.

Tail-enders Shaheen Shah Afridi scored 27 and Haris Rauf made 35 to at least take Pakistan past the 200-mark.

Ali removed Mohammad Rizwan for a 51-ball 36 and Iftikhar Ahmed for three while Rashid had Saud Shakeel bowled round his legs for 29 before bowling Shadab Khan for four with a googly.

Pakistan started the day needing to beat England by 287 runs in order to squeeze into the semi-finals on net run-rate but that escape route was immediately closed when Buttler won the toss and chose to bat first.

As a result, New Zealand became the fourth team into the semi-finals and will face undefeated India in Mumbai on November 15.

A day later, Australia and South Africa will meet in the other semi-final in Kolkata.

Stokes -- dropped on 10 by Shaheen off his own bowling -- rode his luck during a 76-ball innings.

Root added a 72-ball 60 after England won the toss and batted.

Stokes and Root built on a solid opening stand of 82 between Jonny Bairstow (59) and Dawid Malan (31), taking full advantage of a slow Eden Gardens pitch and some wayward bowling.

Bairstow hit seven boundaries and a six in his 61-ball knock -- his second fifty in an otherwise lacklustre performance in the tournament.

Malan was the first to go, miscuing a reverse sweep off spinner Iftikhar Ahmed while Bairstow was caught in the covers off Rauf, Pakistan's best bowler with 3-64.

Once Stokes, who came out of ODI retirement for the World Cup, got a life he continued to bat like he did during his century against the Netherlands in Pune three days ago, cracking 11 boundaries and two sixes.

He was finally yorked by Shaheen in the 41st over after adding 132 for the third wicket with Root.

Root hit four boundaries in his third half century of the World Cup before he was caught off a leading edge against Shaheen who finished with 2-72.

Harry Brook made 30, with two sixes and as many fours, and Buttler hit 27 with a six and three boundaries as the pair added a quick 45 with England scoring 97 runs in the last ten overs.

Pakistan finished in fifth place in the 10-nation table while England are a further two places down, but still able to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

PUNE: Mitchell Marsh’s career-best 177 not out sent Australia into next week’s World Cup semi-finals with a convincing eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in Pune on Saturday.

Marsh’s second hundred of the World Cup ensured Australia, already guaranteed a last-four clash with South Africa, made light of their target of 307 to win with 32 balls remaining.

This was just Marsh’s third hundred in 87 one-day internationals and surpassed his 121 against Pakistan earlier in the tournament as the 32-year-old’s highest score.

The all-rounder, strong on the drive and square of the wicket, faced 132 balls including 17 fours and nine sixes.

Cricket World Cup: Australia v Bangladesh head-to-head record

Marsh also shared a stand of 120 with David Warner (53) and put on an unbroken 175 with Steve Smith, the star batsman hitting the winning boundary in a morale-boosting 63 not out after returning from vertigo.

Victory meant Australia ended the group stage with a seventh successive win after their campaign for a record-extending sixth men’s World Cup title started with two defeats.

Bangladesh’s 306-8, their highest total of the tournament, left Australia needing to surpass their record World Cup-winning chase of 292 against Afghanistan in Mumbai on Tuesday – a match where Glenn Maxwell’s stunning unbeaten 201 sealed an astounding three-wicket win after they had collapsed to 91-7.

Maxwell was rested on Saturday, but Australia had no need of his heroics as they overpowered a Bangladesh attack missing captain Shakib Al Hasan after the all-rounder was ruled out with a broken finger.

Nasum Ahmed’s 10 wicketless overs cost 85 runs, with this loss leaving Bangladesh dependent on other results for a top-eight finish that would qualify them for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Australia lost Travis Head (10) early in their chase when he played on trying to slog Taskin Ahmed.

Warner plundered runs on an excellent batting pitch before the left-handed opener, following a 52-ball fifty, surprisingly chipped Mustafizur Rahman to stand-in skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto at mid-off.

The powerful Marsh however, pressed on, pounding spinner Mehid Hasan Miraz for a six and a four before suffering cramp, although nothing as severe as the attack that afflicted Maxwell against Afghanistan.

Earlier, Towhid Hridoy’s 74, his maiden World Cup fifty, was the cornerstone of a Bangladesh innings were several batsmen gave away their wickets.

Adam Zampa was the pick of Australia’s attack with 2-32 as the leg-spinner became the leading bowler in the tournament with 22 wickets, while Marnus Labuschagne derailed the innings by expertly running out the well-set Najmul (45) and Mahmudullah (32).

Hridoy’s 79-ball innings ended when he holed out off Marcus Stoinis, his exit sparking a flurry of wickets.

KOLKATA: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam blasted his critics on Friday, telling them “it’s easy to give advice on TV” as he refused to surrender his World Cup dreams.

Pakistan have to defeat defending champions England by at least 287 runs on Saturday to oust New Zealand as the fourth and last semi-finalist on net run rate.

Failure to do so will spark more questions over Azam’s captaincy, a position he has held for three years.

“I have not performed the way I should have in the World Cup, that’s why people are saying that I am under pressure. I am under no pressure,” insisted the 29-year-old.

“Everyone has their own point of view, their own way of thinking. Everyone is saying something different. He should be like this, or like that.

“If someone has to give me advice, everyone has my number. It is easy to give advice on TV. If you want to give me some advice, you can message me.” Azam has made 282 runs at the tournament with an average of just over 40 and four fifties.

However, as captain, he has overseen four defeats in eight games including a shock loss to Afghanistan and a shattering one-wicket defeat to South Africa. They stayed alive in the tournament last weekend when Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 81-ball 126 not out inspired a rain-hit win over New Zealand despite the Black Caps having piled up 401-6.

Azam insisted his team has not given up hope of pulling off victory over England despite the huge margin required. “It’s not like this matter is not in the back of the mind. It’s in our mind and we will try to do it,” said Azam.

“But we can’t just go in and start firing blindly - we want that but with proper planning, how we want to play the first 10 overs, then the next 20 - how we have to achieve that target.

“There are a lot of things in this, like partnerships, which player will stay in the pitch for how long. I would say if Fakhar is in the match for 20 or 30 overs, we can achieve that. We can do this and we have planned for this.”

Pakistan have never scored more than 361 against England, which they achieved at Southampton in 2019. Their biggest victory over the English is 108 runs 22 years ago.

Pakistan, the 1992 champions, started the World Cup with wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka but then suffered back-to-back losses to India and Australia.

Defeats to Afghanistan and the Proteas followed before victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand revived their slim semi-final hopes.

Azam, however, pointed to the defeat against South Africa in Chennai as a crucial setback. “We were hurt by the defeat in the South Africa match We should have won the Afghanistan game as well and it’s because of those defeats that we are at this stage.”

He added: “My goal was to finish matches and win them with my performance and there were expectations from me and I accept that I have not done what was expected of me.” Despite likely elimination on Saturday, Azam said that Pakistan should not be written off.

“Do you think we have lost all World Cups since 1999?” Azam asked.

“If you look in the T20 World Cup, we were in the Asia Cup (2022 final), we played in the final in Australia (T20 World Cup 2022).

“It’s not that we are not playing well in the World Cups, we are not able to finish well.

Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has rightly reacted to his critics who have been castigating him and his team-mates day in, day out for their “unsatisfactory” performance in the ongoing Cricket World Cup in India.

Addressing his detractors, he’s said, among other things, that “it’s always easy to give advice on TV”. Everyone has their own point of view, their own way of thinking. Everyone is saying something different….If someone has to give me advice, everyone has my number….”

In other words, Babar Azam, who has unfortunately not fared well as a batsman in this World Cup, told them that they have no inkling of the ground realities, one of which is the anti-Pakistan belligerence of unprecedentedly hostile crowds in each and every match.

It is good that the Pakistan skipper has refused to surrender his World Cup dreams. It is heartening to note that our team finally has found its World Cup rhythm in the nick of time by defeating New Zealand last Saturday.

But the challenge before the Green Shirts now is profoundly formidable, given Pakistan have to defeat defending champions England by at least 287 runs today to oust New Zealand as the fourth and last semi-finalist on net run rate.

No doubt, Pakistan have under-performed in this global cricket event, losing three matches in a row. Having said that, I, as a cricket lover, share Pakistan skipper’s optimism about today’s match against England, a team that has hit a huge low insofar as their performance in the World Cup is concerned.

Najib Warraich (Lahore)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) membership with immediate effect for government interference, the sport’s governing body said on Friday.

Sri Lanka’s ministry of sport dismissed SLC’s board and replaced it with an interim committee following the country’s poor performance at this year’s World Cup but the sacking was stayed by Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal.

Sri Lanka’s parliament asks ‘corrupt’ cricket board to resign

“The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member,” it said in a statement.

“In particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka.

“The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course.”

Sri Lanka court restores sacked cricket board

Sri Lanka won only two of their nine games at the World Cup and sit ninth in the 10-team standings.

KOLKATA: Pakistan’s Babar Azam does not think the burden of captaincy has affected his batting at the World Cup and is not losing sleep over whether he will keep the job after the showpiece event.

The 1992 champions are fifth in the points table and face a virtually impossible task to make the semi-finals when they take on holders England, who have already been eliminated, in their final group match on Saturday.

Pakistan must not only match New Zealand’s five wins from nine matches but also need to massively improve their net run-rate to make the knockout stage.

World Cup not over for Pakistan, says skipper Babar Azam

If they bat first Babar Azam’s team will have to beat England by at least 287 runs to leapfrog New Zealand into the last four, which appears unlikely, and speculation is rife over whether Babar Azam would retain the captaincy after their campaign.

He sought to steer clear of any speculation, however, and said his focus was solely on finishing their group stage on a winning note at Eden Gardens.

“Once we go back to Pakistan … we will see what happens,” the 29-year-old reporters on Friday. “Right now, I am not focusing on this. My focus is on the next match.”

Babar entered the World Cup as the top-ranked ODI batter but his average of 40.28 is behind three of his team mates, while several former players have found his leadership uninspiring.

Mickey Arthur warns of ‘witch hunt’ against Babar Azam, management

The number three batter’s highest score of 74 came in their shock loss to Afghanistan but the 29-year-old denied that the captaincy was affecting his form with the bat.

“I have been captaining my team for the last three years and I have never felt pressure,” he said.

“I have not performed the way I should have in the World Cup, that’s why people are saying that I am under pressure.

“Over the last two and half or three years I was the one who was performing for the side and leading the team.

Unfamiliar Indian conditions not a worry for Pakistan: Babar Azam

“It seems everyone has an opinion on me - he should be like this, or like that. If someone really wants to advise me, I think everyone has my number. But I guess it is easy to give advice on TV.”

BENGALURU: Australia will take a late call on Glenn Maxwell’s participation in their World Cup game against Bangladesh after the all-rounder batted through severe cramps to script an improbable win over Afghanistan, bowling coach Daniel Vettori said on Friday.

Maxwell endured cramps in his calf, shin, hamstring and toes before experiencing back spasms in Mumbai on Tuesday but made an outrageous double-century to help Australia beat the Asian side and reach the semi-finals, where they will face South Africa.

“He’s definitely been in full recovery mode the last few days. We all saw the effects of the innings and in particular the heat. So I think today’s a big day, see how he pulls up,” Vettori told reporters before Saturday’s pool game in Pune.

Cricket World Cup: Australia v Bangladesh head-to-head record

“Obviously we’ve had a couple of days off so there’s been no training. He’s not here today but we’ll just see how he feels as the day continues. It’s obviously been pretty hectic for him the last few days.”

Vettori said Maxwell, who blasted a 40-ball century against the Netherlands earlier in the event, would not be put through a fitness test for the Bangladesh game.

“It’ll be how he feels,” Vettori added. “We understand now that the semi-final is pretty definitive in Kolkata on Nov. 16 it’ll be a build towards that.

“He does have a track record of being able to bounce back pretty quickly even with some time away from the game. So it’ll depend on how the day goes… Being a day game probably means tonight they’ll make the call.”

Bangladesh are out of semi-final contention and go into the contest seeking a win to cement a top-eight spot to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan, but their coach Chandika Hathurusinghe is aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

“They (Australia) are the most successful team in World Cup history,” said Hathurusinghe, whose side are currently eighth in the table. “They’re a good team, very professionally prepared and playing good cricket.

“They started slowly but qualified (for the semi-finals). So yeah, playing against them is a big challenge.”

Bangladesh will be without skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who was replaced by Anamul Haque Bijoy in the squad after fracturing his finger during their win over Sri Lanka last time out.

“When you have someone of Shakib’s calibre, the number one all-rounder, it’s two players in one so it’s hard to do much with the combination,” Hathurusinghe said.

“So we’ll definitely want to fill the bowling vacuum with another spinner or fast bowler. It’s his batting we’re going to miss and his leadership.”

PUNE: Australia v Bangladesh ODI record ahead of their World Cup group game at MCA International Stadium, Pune on Saturday

Match starts 0500 GMT

Last 10 meetings

28/04/2006: Fatullah - Australia won by 9 wickets

31/03/2007: North Sound - Australia won by 10 wickets

30/08/2008: Darwin - Australia won by 180 runs

02/09/2008: Darwin - Australia won by 8 wickets

06/09/2008: Darwin - Australia won by 73 runs

09/04/2011: Dhaka - Australia won by 60 runs

11/04/2011: Dhaka - Australia won by 9 wickets

13/04/2011: Dhaka - Australia won by 66 runs

05/06/2017: The Oval, London - No Result

20/06/2019: Nottingham - Australia won by 48 runs

Overall

Australia wins: 19

Bangladesh wins: 1

Tied: 0

No result: 1

KOLKATA: England v Pakistan ODI record ahead of their World Cup group game at Eden Gardens on Saturday.

Match starts 0830 GMT

Last 10 meetings

14/06/2017: Cardiff - Pakistan won by 8 wickets

08/05/2019: The Oval, London - No Result

11/05/2019: Southampton - England won by 12 runs

14/05/2019: Bristol - England won by 6 wickets

17/05/2019: Nottingham - England won by 3 wickets

19/05/2019: Leeds - England won by 54 runs

03/06/2019: Nottingham - Pakistan won by 14 runs

08/07/2021: Cardiff - England won by 9 wickets

10/07/2021: Lord’s - England won by 52 runs

13/07/2021: Birmingham - England won by 3 wickets

Overall

England wins: 56

Pakistan wins: 32

Tied: 0

No result: 3

AHMEDABAD: Rassie van der Dussen hit an unbeaten 76 to lead South Africa to a comfortable five-wicket win over Afghanistan in their last World Cup group game on Friday as their opponents were eliminated from the semi-final race.

Chasing 245 for victory, Van der Dussen steered the Proteas home with 15 balls to spare in a tune-up for their semi-final against Australia next week.

Azmatullah Omarzai hit an unbeaten 97 to guide Afghanistan to 244 all out in a match where they needed an unlikely 438-run win to make the last four.

New Zealand look all set to meet hosts India in the other semi-final unless Pakistan pull off a huge win against England on Saturday.

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma said the team would look to return to the venue -- the world's biggest cricket stadium with a capacity of 132,000 -- in the final on November 19.

"We would want to play here (in Ahmedabad) again, in front of a full capacity crowd, and it will be a different experience playing in front of a hundred thousand fans," said Bavuma.

"Before that, we have Australia. We will enjoy today and from tomorrow, we will start training our minds for that clash."

South Africa put record mauling by India behind them

Playing for pride, Afghanistan's spinners checked South Africa's strong start of 64-0 after Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed Bavuma for 23 and fellow spinner Mohammad Nabi trapped Quinton de Kock lbw on 41.

Bavuma's hamstring troubled him throughout the match while fielding and batting in a worrying sign ahead of their semi-final.

"Obviously my leg is sore. Don't know to what extent but it is going to have to be fine, at least in my eyes," he said.

De Kock, who will quit one-day internationals when this World Cup is over, overtook New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra (565) to reclaim his top spot in the tournament batting chart with 591 runs, including four centuries.

'Lots of learnings'

The Proteas put their chase back on track in a third-wicket stand of 50 but leg-spinner Rashid Khan broke through with the wicket of Aiden Markram for 25.

South Africa looked in trouble when Rashid bowled Heinrich Klaasen for 10 but Van der Dussen stood firm to build partnerships including an unbeaten 65-run stand with Andile Phehlukwayo, who hit the winning six in an unbeaten 39.

Earlier Afghanistan slipped to 116-6 before Azmatullah hit his ODI best to lift the team to a competitive total.

South Africa fast bowler Gerald Coetzee took four wickets while spinner Keshav Maharaj returned impressive figures of 2-25.

De Kock played a key part with his six wicketkeeping dismissals to equal a World Cup record of Australia's Adam Gilchrist (v Namibia - Potchefstroom, 2003) and Pakistan's Sarfaraz Ahmed (v South Africa - Auckland, 2015).

Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started aggressively before Maharaj struck with his first ball to have Gurbaz caught for 25.

Coetzee sent back Ibrahim in the next over to check the batting surge and Afghanistan slipped from 41-0 to 45-3 when Maharaj had skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi caught behind for two.

Afghanistan lost three more wickets to be in danger of getting bowled out in less than their quota of 50 overs but Azmatullah stood firm to play out the innings.

Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, ended a strong campaign after they beat defending champions England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.

"We played big teams and we fought till the last moment, even if we lost," said Shahidi.

"Even the Australia game was in our hands but it was shocking the way (Glenn) Maxwell batted. I was very shocked, but there were lots of learnings too."

On Tuesday, Maxwell took the game away from Afghanistan from 91-7 to chase down 292 with the Australian unbeaten on 201 as he played through cramps and back spasms.

BENGALURU: Paceman Lockie Ferguson said New Zealand would head into a likely World Cup semi-final against India charged with confidence after snapping a four-match losing streak against Sri Lanka in their last round-robin clash.

Thursday’s crushing five-wicket victory left Pakistan and Afghanistan requiring miraculous wins in their final opening-round matches to displace the Black Caps from the semi-finals.

“We’ve had some tight games and some tight losses over the last few weeks but certainly within the camp there’s a lot of confidence in the type of cricket we play,” Ferguson said after the match.

“We know that if we play the way we want to play, we’ll come out on the right side of the draw. We’ll see what happens in the last few games … hopefully we’ll have a couple more pushes.”

Ferguson, who missed two of New Zealand’s four defeats with an Achilles injury, returned with figures of 2-35 from a fiery spell at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

After losing to Pakistan on the Duckworth-Lewis method despite scoring more than 400 runs in their previous match, New Zealand really hit their straps in the bowling department to restrict Sri Lanka to 171.

Inconsistency to blame for Sri Lanka’s poor World Cup, says coach Silverwood

Strike duo Trent Boult and Tim Southee accounted for four top order wickets, Ferguson and spinner Mitch Santner took over in the middle overs before all-rounder Rachin Ravindra mopped up the tail.

“Throughout the World Cup, the bowling attacks that have done well have passed the baton to the next bowler,” Ferguson added.

“The more you build the pressure, eventually something will happen and … today, we got some treats for some really good bowling. “We probably haven’t had as much as we’d have liked over the whole World Cup but it was nice to see Boulty and Tim get some early wickets.”

New Zealand have reached the final of the last two World Cups and beat India to reach the title-decider in 2019, Ferguson’s breakout tournament.

Ferguson was confident he would be fit to play a role against the hosts if, as is likely, New Zealand’s place in the semi-finals for the fourth straight World Cup is confirmed.

The 32-year-old said the injury had been just “niggly” enough to prevent him from bowling his full quota in the matches he missed, but hard work in the gym had paid off.

“Stoked to get out there and get through 10 overs today and get a couple of treats as well,” he said.

BENGALURU: Sri Lanka’s inconsistency cost them dear at the World Cup, coach Chris Silverwood said after his team suffered a seventh defeat in nine matches at the 50-overs tournament in India.

Sri Lanka, who had already been eliminated, lost by five wickets to New Zealand at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.

“I think inconsistency. I think it would be fair to use that word,” Silverwood told reporters. “I think we’ve played some good cricket along the way, and I think we’ll look back on certain games and rue missed opportunities, to be honest.

“There have been certain games during this campaign that if we’d have taken the opportunities that were put our way, this could have looked a lot different.

“But the fact is that we have been inconsistent and it’s something that we’ve been working on for a long time and something we need to continue working on.”

The top seven sides at the World Cup qualify for the Champions Trophy in 2025, along with hosts Pakistan. Sri Lanka are ninth with four points — the same as England, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

Silverwood said they would review their performances in India and look at how they can improve heading into the next cycle.

New Zealand on brink of World Cup semi-finals

“Have a good debrief, dissect what’s happened and have a look at what we can learn from this and what we can take into the next phase, the next chapter leading into the next World Cup, and how do we put things right that we got wrong this time,” he said.

“We have everybody on the path, we have everybody available and we can put our best foot forward.”