NEWSLETTER
Follow UsIf you love watching fours and sixes to the extent that boundaries become banal, you would have loved watching this ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
A lot happened this past week, from Klaasen’s extraterrestrial batting in Mumbai to Grace Harris’s broken bat six.
Worry not because this newsletter will cover it all for you. Here is the complete recap of everything that’s happened in the last 7 days
Grace Harris!!! Are you even for real??
You would have seen one-handed sixes, two-handed sixes, no-look sixes, and scooped sixes. BUT HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A SIX WITH A BROKEN BAT?
Grace Harris just hit one in the ongoing Women’s Big Bash League that started a few days ago! Not only that, the Brisbane heat basher went to score the highest individual score in the tournament’s history - 136* off just 59 balls against Perth Scorchers.
What was even more ridiculous was that she was aware of her broken bat and asked for a new bat but then decided: “nah, stuff it. I’ll hit it anyway."
WHAT IS EVEN THIS!! JUST PLAIN RIDICULOUS.
So, what’s happening at that big tournament in India?
Before we tell you what happened, just check the scorecards from the World Cup yourself.
> The biggest news is that India are at the top the table, being invincible at this World Cup. They first pulverised Bangladesh in Pune, then defeated the Kiwis yesterday by 4 wickets, who were also unbeaten until they met the Men In Blue in Dharamshala.
Virat Kohli is back to being a chasing god, Rohit is batting like a possessed madman but with a lot of control, KL is not batting like the KL we have come to know at all, and Shami can still take a fifer after warming the bench for first four matches.
Yup, if you are an Indian fan, you have much to be chuffed about.
> Oh, in other news, five-time World Champion Australia have got their campaign on track. Sri Lanka are to blame for that comeback, as after defeating the Lankans, Pat Cummins’s men defeated Pakistan convincingly in Bengaluru
> The Netherlands jinx continued for South Africa as the Dutchmen defeated the Proteas by 38 runs. It wasn’t even an upset anymore. The Dutch have been a good team, ever-improving with their pacers, a mercurial captain, and efficient match preparations. Their victory felt inevitable that day.
> A bruised South Africa met England and they absolutely annihilated the defending champions, first by setting up a target of 400 and then bowling out the Three Lions for 170. It is the heaviest defeat for England in World Cup history.
Heinrich Klaasen scored 109 off just 67 balls, persevering through Mumbai's extreme heat and humidity in what was arguably one of the best World Cup innings by a South African batter.
Cricket World Cup or Injury World Cup?
The love story between injuries and this World Cup has been more intense than Veer and Zara.
> The biggest injury this week was of Hardik Pandya, as he injured his ankle against Bangladesh and was ruled out of the Dharamshala game. His progress is being monitored every day, and, according to the latest updates, he’s bound to return against England in Lucknow.
> England are second on the point table but from the bottom. Their horror World Cup continues as their left-arm seamer Reece Topley fractured the index finger of his bowling hand against South Africa. He has now been ruled out of the World Cup and, replaced by the right-arm seamer Brydon Carse.
Joe Root called Carse a ‘junior Plunkett’ in what felt like a wry attempt to bring some serendipity to their rotten tournament so far.
> If you have any questions about the progress of Shakib Al Hasan and Travis Head’s injury, don’t expect anything from us. The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind...
> As if Shakib’s injury wasn’t enough, Taskin Ahmed now looks doubtful for their South Africa game as well due to a shoulder injury. He sat out in the India game because of the same.
What’s happening in Indian Domestic Cricket?
Well, the World Cup isn’t the only cricket happening in India, you know? The premier Men’s and Women’s T20 Tournaments are also on at the moment.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT)
> There are five groups in SMAT this year. Goa, Vidarbha, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kerala are leading their respective groups.
> Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag have lit up the tournament with their batting so far, scoring 364 and 311 runs in five games. They are the highest and second-highest run scorer in the tournament so far.
Sharma has scored two centuries and two fifties in his five innings, and Riyan has scored four fifties along with seven wickets in as many games in SMAT.
> With the ball, Hyderabad’s right-arm medium pacer, Ravi Teja is leading the wicket charts, credits to his six-fer against Chhattisgarh.
Senior Women’s T20 Trophy
> India’s premier Women’s domestic T20 tournament began on the 18th of October, with all Indian women’s cricket stars except Harmanpreet Kaur participating in the competition.
> Baroda, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Bengal teams currently lead the five groups.
> Poonam Khemnar of Madhya Pradesh is the leading scorer (213 runs in three games) with the highest score (142*). Smriti Mandhana scored a century (121 off 61) against Mizoram . Kesha Patel of Baroda is the leading wicket-taker (eight scalps) at the time of writing this.
What else is happening in the Cricketing World?
> Some unfortunate news. The godfather of left-arm spin in the cricketing world, Bishan Singh Bedi, passed away at the age of 77 on Monday, bringing the curtains down on one of the most memorable chapters of Indian cricket.
A veteran with 266 Test wickets from 67 matches, he was known for his guile and trickery in the air, as much as his vocal support for the right treatment of Indian cricketers both on and off the field. Bedi also has 1560 first-class wickets, more than any other Indian bowler.
> In Australia, the Women’s Big Bash League started on the 19th of October. Brisbane Heat has won both games so far and are currently leading the points table.
India’s only participant, Harmanpreet Kaur, who was also the Player of the Tournament when she last played the tournament, has started the competition on a good note. She won the Player of the Match for 42*(33) with the bat and 2/11 with the ball as her Melbourne Renegades defeated Adelaide Strikers.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Sixers have suffered a serious blow as their wicketkeeper batter Alyssa Healy suffered a gory injury to her right index finger when separating her two fighting puppies. She has had a successful surgery since then, but her participation in the WBBL and Australia’s tour to India is in jeopardy.
> Ahead of the 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL), the five franchises have announced the retained players list with 60 players, including 21 overseas players.
You can read our coverage to know who was retained and who wasn’t, and be sure to be surprised by some of the releases.
WPL 2024: Shabnim Ismail, Megan Schutt among big released names
> Women coaches in Men’s cricket are rare. Hence, the Multan Sultans appointing the former English left-arm spinner Alexandra Hartley as their spin bowling is a great news. Multan have led the way in the Pakistan Super League regarding Women's coaching staff appointments. They had also appointed Catherine Dalton as their fast bowling coach prior to this.
> Danushka Gunathilaka was acquitted from all charges of sexual assault by a Sydney court on September 23. The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has lifted the ban imposed on him, allowing him to return to domestic cricket.
> Former KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) and RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla announced his retirement from competitive cricket on 20th October. The spinner from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, played prominently for Mumbai in first-class cricket before moving on to other teams later in his career.
> Dewald Brevis is on fire in the Cricket South Africa Provincial One-day Challenge, 2023. He has scored two centuries in the last four games with a 94 and is the second-highest run scorer in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the other hyped-up Proteas young batter, Donovan Ferreira, has batted even more explosively than Brevis, scoring 353 runs with a 58.83 average and 137.35 SR.
Controversy of the Week
The pattern of uncivilised behaviour by the Indian crowds in the stands continues in this World Cup. In the India-Bangladesh game at Pune, a section of Indian fans harassed Bangladeshi super fan ‘Shoaib Ali’ aka Tiger Shoaib and tore apart his stuffed tiger - the mascot of the Bangladeshi cricket team.
In Bangalore, meanwhile, a lone cop stopped a Pakistan cricket fan from cheering ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in the stands.
Both incidents have caused more damage to India’s image as a hospitable host this World Cup.
Picture of the day
Rohit be like - “mere Karan Arjun aa gaye” (My Karan Arjun have come)
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