ODI World Cup digest: India stay undefeated; Afghanistan, Pakistan in must-win territory

The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is underway in India and runs from October 5 till November 19. Each morning we’ll spherical up the most recent motion and news from the occasion and produce you the insights from our reporters on the bottom.

Top Story: Shami and Kohli put unbeaten India prime of the desk

India 274 for six (Kohli 95, Rohit 46, Jadeja 39*, Ferguson 2-63) beat New Zealand 273 (Mitchell 130, Ravindra 75, Shami 5-54, Kuldeep 2-73) by 4 wickets

They have been with out their most irreplaceable participant in a top-of-the-table conflict towards a New Zealand aspect that is had the wooden over them in latest global-tournament conferences, and this New Zealand aspect put them beneath extreme strain on a number of events. But in the long run, India continued to typify the 2023 World Cup equal of Gary Lineker’s well-known quote on a superteam from a distinct sport: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and in the end, the Germans always win.”

We’re nonetheless solely midway by way of the league stage, and knockouts are knockouts, however India have appeared so onerous to beat that even this recreation, their most intense tussle but on this event, ended with Virat Kohli attempting to repeat what he did towards Bangladesh on Thursday, and refuse singles with India in sight of victory in an effort to attempt to attain his hundred.

Match evaluation: Shami shreds safety-first script to current India with one other approach

Mohammed Shami’s numbers on the 50-overs World Cup make for spectacular studying: 12 matches, 36 wickets at a median of 15.02 and an financial system of 5.09. They’re the type of big-tournament numbers groups yearn for. Teams go to any lengths to wrap such performers in cotton wool for concern of harm.

There’s little doubt that Shami is one in every of India’s predominant quick bowlers. But to this point on the 2023 World Cup, he hadn’t fairly been the one. Until Sunday, after all, in Dharamsala, when he left an indelible mark towards New Zealand: immaculate management up entrance bookended by death-overs mastery. Not even a chic Virat Kohli innings could not fairly shade Shami’s second World Cup five-for beneath the Himalayan mist.

Must Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara on the important thing to Daryl Mitchell’s success

News headlines

  • England will attempt to determine “an X-factor player” as a substitute for Reece Topley, who has been formally dominated out of the remainder of the World Cup after scans confirmed a fracture in his left index finger.
  • Match preview

    Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Chennai (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEDT

    It’s now roughly midway by way of the World Cup, and the desk is starting to take form. Afghanistan and Pakistan, the 2 sides that take one another on in Chennai, are nowhere close to the top of it, and it is already starting to strategy must-win territory for every of those sides. Defeat for Afghanistan would virtually actually knock them out, whereas a Pakistan loss leaves Babar Azam’s aspect with no additional room for error.

    Afghanistan will really feel like there’s been little to separate the 2 sides on far too many events, however they’re but to have fun an ODI win towards their fiercest regional rivals. They have been famously denied in a heartbreaker on the 2019 World Cup after being offered with a golden alternative to knock Pakistan out, and victory on Monday would have a near-similar impact. There have been sufficient encouraging indicators to recommend this may very well be an evenly poised recreation, although Afghanistan have peppered patches of brilliance with prolonged spells of mediocrity with each bat and ball.

    Team news

    Afghanistan (doable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz 2 Ibrahim Zadran 3 Rahmat Shah 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt) 5 Azmatullah Omarzai 6 Ikram Alikhil (wk) 7 Mohammad Nabi 8 Rashid Khan 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman 10 Naveen-ul-Haq 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

    Pakistan (doable): 1 Abdullah Shafique 2 Imam-ul-Haq 3 Babar Azam (capt) 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Mohammad Nawaz/Shadab Khan 7 Iftikhar Ahmed 8 Usama Mir 8 9 Hasan Ali 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 11 Haris Rauf

    Feature: The value of being Babar Azam

    The ball wasn’t as brief as you would possibly keep in mind it. It wasn’t as a lot a half-tracker gimme. It was fuller – a superb size really – and really straight, with some zip off the floor. Also, it was Adam Zampa; so a bit respect to the deliverer’s intent and ability please.

    But nonetheless. Here was a second, a capital M second within the recreation that was arrange for Babar Azam. Pakistan have been 175 for two, 193 to get from slightly below 24 overs, on a small floor, a real floor, a lightning outfield and an assault with restricted spin choices. There’s no cakewalking to a chase of 369 in a World Cup recreation towards Australia ever, nevertheless it’s truthful to say that final Friday on the Chinnaswamy, with this line-up, was most likely Pakistan’s finest alternative for it.

    Source web site: www.espncricinfo.com

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