ICC T20 Rankings

Rohit Sharma-led team, which clinched a thrilling seven-run victory over South Africa in the final of T20 cricket World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday, returned to India today

"It was god's plan," Suryakumar Yadav said on Monday as he reminisced his incredible match-defining catch in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa, which is being lauded across the board as the perfect execution of athleticism, balance and game awareness. In a brief telephonic conversation with PTI, the Mumbaikar was modest about his role in India's title triumph. Rohit Sharma's men defeated a dangerous South Africa by seven runs in the summit clash in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday. "I am just grateful to be in that moment to do something special for the country...god's plan it was," Suryakumar said when asked about the catch that has become a standout moment from the game. Needing 16 runs from the final over, South Africa had the big-hitting David Miller on strike. He hit a wide full toss from Hardik Pandya but Suryakumar steadied himself on the ropes, caught the ball, released it just as he went over the boundary ropes and then came back in to complete an astonishing ..

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He fell short of a potentially record-shattering hundred, but milestones "don't matter" to India skipper Rohit Sharma, whose sole aim while batting is to "put bowlers under pressure" by hitting them all over the field. Rohit's 92-run knock that came off 41 deliveries steered India to a 24-run win over former champions Australia in their final Super 8 outing of the ongoing T20 World Cup on Monday. The record for the fastest T20 World Cup hundred belongs to West Indian swashbuckler Chris Gayle, who pulled it off in 47 deliveries in the 2016 edition. Expectedly adjudged player of the match for the memorable effort, which was punctuated by eight sixes and seven fours, the 37-year-old said his focus was only on maintaining the "tempo" of the match. India will take on England in the second semifinal on June 27. "It was a good wicket, and you want to try and back yourself to play those kinds of shots. I've been trying to do that for a few years now, and I'm glad it came off today. The ...

West Indian batting great Brian Lara had predicted Afghanistan would reach the T20 World Cup semifinals nearly a month before the tournament began and now that the giant-slayers have made it, skipper Rashid Khan said he is immensely proud to have proved the legend right. Afghanistan continued their brilliant run at the T20 World Cup as they marched to their first-ever World Cup semifinal with an eight-run win over Bangladesh in the last Super 8 clash here. "The only guy who put us in the semifinals was Brian Lara and we proved him right. When we met him at a welcome party, I told him we won't let you down," Rashid said at the post-match presentation. "I think when you get the kind of great, great statements from a legend, as a team, I think it gives you lots of energy as well. We are capable," he added. Lara, in an interaction with PTI editors at its headquarters last month, had predicted that Afghanistan would be among the semifinalists in the mega-event. "Afghanistan, they are .

The pinpoint accuracy of Jasprit Bumrah allows other bowlers in the Indian team to go for wickets even in extreme pressure situations, said pacer Arshdeep Singh. The 25-year-old left-arm pacer is among the leading wicket-takers in the T20 World Cup with 15 scalps in six games at an average of 11.86 and economy rate of 7.41 runs per over. Bumrah, on the other hand, has taken 11 wickets in the same number of games, conceding just 4.08 runs per over, a rarity in the shortest format. "I guess a lot of credit goes to Jasprit because he puts a lot of pressure on the batters. He gives what, three or four runs in and over," Arshdeep said after the 24-run win over Australia in Saint Lucia on Monday. "So, batsmen are coming hard against me and when they are trying, I just have to try and bowl my best ball and there are a lot of chances of getting wickets there because on the other hand they see the runs are not coming and the asking rate is going high. "So, they take more risk against me an

Gulbadin Naib dramatically falling on his back, clutching his thigh after Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott signalled his players to slow things down in the T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh caused both amusement and annoyance as former players questioned the genuineness of his discomfort. Naib, who was fielding in the slip cordon, complained of cramps during the 12th over bowled by spinner Noor Ahmad, after Trott was seen on camera asking his players to slow down as Bangladesh had fallen behind on the Duckworth-Lewis par score in the rain-hit Super 8 clash. The match saw frequent rain interruptions and Bangladesh, at that stage, were 81 for 7, two runs behind on the DLS par score in a revised chase of 114 in 19 overs. Afghans eventually prevailed by eight runs to enter their maiden World Cup semifinal. "The coach sends a message out to say slow it down, slow it down and the first slip just dives on the ground needlessly. That is unacceptable. Gone off anyway. I get that might .

New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson entered the history books here on Monday, recording the most economical spell for any bowler in T20I history, that too in a World Cup fixture, returning with figures of 4-4-0-3 against Papua New Guinea. Ferguson's stunning spell saw him becoming only the second bowler in the history of the format to have sent down each of the four overs allotted to a player as maidens, joining Canada's Saad Bin Zafar in the process. Zafar had recorded 4-4-0-2 against Canada in November 2021 during T20 World Cup Americas Regional qualifier match, but Ferguson bettered his numbers. The right-arm New Zealand pacer struck on the first ball of his spell to remove PNG captain Assad Vala for six, which set the tone for his following overs as the opposition batters went into a shell. While PNG batters struggled for strike rotation, Ferguson maintained a tight line with pace and slight movement off the surface to make their job tougher. On the second ball of the 12th over,

The T20 World Cup will spread much-needed cricket awareness in the USA but eventually, it is the lure of competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics that will attract local Americans to the game that is mainly played by expats, feels USA Cricket chairman Venu Pisike. USA is co-hosting the event alongside West Indies and the US team will also be making its World Cup debut when it faces neighbours Canada in the tournament-opener on June 1. The team is mainly made up of semi-professional cricketers of South Asian heritage with former New Zealand star Corey Anderson also switching allegiance to his adopted homeland of USA. Former Indian first-class cricketer Milind Kumar and former India U-19 player Harmeet Singh are also part of the squad. Speaking to PTI, Pisike agreed it is a major challenge to take cricket to the masses in USA. "So far, cricket is predominantly an expats' game, but with the marketing and promotion activities during the World Cup, there is some momentum and the World

Suryakumar Yadav has to bat at number three, said the legendary Brian Lara as he rooted for an India-West Indies final at the T20 World Cup next month to fix the "wrong" of 2007 when India's early exit "killed us in the Caribbean". India have expectedly retained proven performers like skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the squad, while deciding to keep young talent like Shubman Gill and Rinku Singh among reserves. Suryakumar, though, is part of the main squad. "My one advice, and I don't know if you're going to like it or not, but Sky has to bat at three. He just has to bat at three. He is one of the greatest T20 players in the game. And you speak to players like Sir Viv, and he will tell you he used to want to get out there in the middle," Lara said in an interaction with PTI editors at its headquarters which was facilitated by Star Sports. "And I feel that that's the same thing with SKY. So, get in on it as quickly as possible. He's not an opener, get him out there and if he

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke does not read much into Rohit Sharma's string of poor scores, but suggests that the "fatigued" Indian skipper take a break to freshen up ahead of the T20I World Cup. Rohit, who will lead India in the next month's 20-team global showpiece, has four single-digit scores in his last five outings for his franchise Mumbai Indians in the ongoing IPL. The 37-year-old has had a busy season this year with an intense five-Test series preceding the IPL for Mumbai Indians, who are all but eliminated from the race to the playoffs this year. Rohit, being the wise judge of his own performances, will undoubtedly be disappointed, especially considering his strong start. In my view, he might be feeling a bit fatigued as well, Clarke told Star Sports. A break to freshen up could do wonders for him, but as the Indian captain and a key player for Mumbai Indians, you're not getting a break. He's going to have to find form, Clarke continued. Rohit played as an impa

Rohit Sharma is a sensible captain who takes good decisions under pressure and his presence will be crucial for India, feels former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh who wishes to see his "close friend" win the elusive T20 World Cup next month. Besides reaching the final of the 50-over World Cup and the WTC Final last year, India made the semifinals of the 2022 T20 World Cup under Rohit's captaincy. The opener is set to lead the 'Men in Blue' once again at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA, starting on June 2. "(Rohit's presence is going to be) very crucial. I think we need a really good captain, a sensible captain who takes decisions well under pressure. And he's the one to take them," Yuvraj, who is the T20 World Cup 2024 ambassador, told ICC. The World Cup 2023 final loss to Australia saw India's quest for an ICC title stretch to 10 years with their last victory dating back to the Champions Trophy in 2013 under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Yuvraj feels India needs ..

With this, Rohit Sharma has become the first Indian captain in all the formats under whom the team achieved this rare feat

India's Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh have moved to the 11th and 36th spots respectively among batters in the latest ICC Women's T20I Player Rankings released on Tuesday. The duo progressed after guiding India to victory against Pakistan in the Women's T20 World Cup opener. While Rodrigues has moved from 13th to 11th after her unbeaten 52, Ghosh is up from 42nd to 36th following her 31 not out. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who missed the opener due to a finger injury, remains the top-ranked India in third place. Mandhana's opening partner Shafali Verma too remained static at the 10th place. Alyssa Healy's knock of 55 against New Zealand has lifted her two places to seventh while Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu, who is the highest scorer in the tournament so far with 83 runs that includes a match-winning 68 in a memorable victory over South Africa, sees her gain one spot to reach ninth position. West Indies captain Hayley Matthews (up four places to 18th), Ireland's Gaby Lewi

India's Suryakumar Yadav remained static at the top spot, while compatriot Shubman Gill shot up to a career-best 30th position in the batting chart of the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings released on Wednesday. Surya continues to lead the batting list with 906 rating points. Gill achieved a career-best position after smashing a match-winning century against New Zealand in the third and final ODI in Ahmedabad recently. Gill's 126 not out off 63 balls that contributed to India's huge 168-run victory and helped the home team seal the series 2-1, lifted him an incredible 168 slots. The 23-year-old, who has now slammed centuries in all three formats of the game, is ranked sixth in ODIs and 62nd in Tests. Besides, Virat Kohli has dropped a rung to the 15 position among batters, while K L Rahul slid two places (27th) and skipper Rohit Sharma was further behind in the 29th spot. Young left-handed wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan has also dropped three places to 48th. No Indian bowler, ho

Star Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav has retained his top position in the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings following his match-winning ton against New Zealand in the second T20I

Pakistan to face New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday; South Africa out

The swashbuckling Suryakumar Yadav on Wednesday became the world's number one batter in T20 Internationals, rising to the top on the back of his incredible form in recent times. Yadav overtook Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan to become just the second Indian player to hold the top T20I batter ranking. Since beginning his T20I journey for India in March last year, Yadav has quickly established himself as one of the best batters in the shortest format of the game, scoring one century and 11 fifties from 37 appearances for his country. The 32-year-old Yadav has also played 13 ODIs for India. Yadav has accumulated 863 points with Rizwan at 842 points. New Zealand's Devon Conway completes the top three with 792 points.

Former India skipper Virat Kohli climbed 5 positions to reach number 9 position in the latest ICC Men's Player Rankings, after his heroics against Pakistan at the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup

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