Associate nations in cricket function as the underdogs that all neutrals love to support, yet ICC hasn’t been kind to them in recent years. Although the decision to minimise the number of teams in CWC was taken from the point-of-view of financial profits, the absence of such nations means fewer opportunities for the sport to grow. CWC 23 participants; Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are evidence of how competition from premier sides is necessary for novice nations to progress, whereas the sole associate squad, The Netherlands, exhibited the thrill and climax such teams bring to the inter ..read more

Change is the only constant, and change is about to happen. It took a long time—two decades and a half for some 60 million odd people and 11 years for 1.5 billion people—but here’s the catch: Only one of these two waits will end on Saturday. The “change” will only happen for one side of the coin, although “both sides of the coin were immersed in a uniform spectrum of emotions.” In realms full of emotions and attachments, the celebration of an event as big as the World Cup final is left way behind in this build-up because a big part of cricket will be saddened by the result of tomorrow’s final ..read more

5 A.M. in Kabul, 2.30 Night in Cape Town, 6 in the morning for Indians and 8:30 local prime time at the Brian Lara cricket stadium in Trinidad. All 24 time zones of the planet will be a witness to the Semifinal bound of 2 nations who have never ever played a World Cup final before. Everything at stake, whole hearted progress to lose and a mark in History to gain. When South Africa will face Afghanistan, it will be nothing short of a clash of two Phoenix. The brutal, unpredictable and evil nature of the T20 format, coupled with the hard grip spirit of these two teams, can produce a match of a l ..read more

As the tournament moves to the business end, Australia will take on India in a mouth-watering contest at St Lucia Stadium, which will be a do-or-die game for the Aussies. In all likelihood, India looks like the 1st team that will qualify for the playoffs as they have 45 45-odd run margin compared to Australia’s run rate and an 81-run rate margin with Afghanistan. The group has become wide open as Afghanistan unexpectedly defeated Australia and sealed 2 points. If Australia crumbles in this game vs India, they will most likely be out of the tournament, as Afghanistan is a vast favourites versus ..read more

If you’re reading this, then you must be following the T20 World Cup, and by now, you must have already been surprised by the fact that South Africa vs West Indies on the upcoming gloomy Sunday evening will be a virtual knockout. 6 games, 6 wins, most of them by holding nerves at crucial moments and turning things in their favour; South Africa so far has done everything they were expected to do as well as all the things they were never expected to do. Breaking the Dutch curse after a shaky start?? Done. Defending the then-lowest-ever winning total against Bangladesh? Done. Snatched the victory ..read more

The 9th edition of the T20 World Cup approaches its climax as India takes on Bangladesh in the 7th Super Eight match. Team Overview India Consistently ranked amongst the favourites for ICC tournaments despite their last trophy coming way back in 2013, the men in blue have looked in great touch so far, remaining unbeaten in each of their 3 completed games. The bowlers have translated their form from the longer formats to the 20-over arena, with Jasprit Bumrah leading the way. No opponent has managed to score more than 120 against them so far. However, batting hasn’t looked as dominating, with t ..read more

Super 8 qualification hangs in the balance as the Netherlands takes on Bangladesh at Kingston in a bout that may decide who will be the second team after South Africa to qualify for the Super 8s. Team Overview Bangladesh Coming into the tournament after a humiliating series defeat against the USA in a 3-match series, Shanto’s men have staged a comeback, defeating Sri Lanka in a close encounter and pushing the Saffas to a last-ball finish though ending just short. Bowlers have been the stars for the side, leaking runs at an economy of just about 6 runs per over so far. Mustafizur has found his ..read more

Two teams in two very different colours, based in two very different parts of the world, with two very contrasting histories and two very dissimilar starts to their ongoing T20 World Cup campaign. As match no. 26 of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup commences, everything in Group C will be on the line. A group of 5 had three initial contenders for the top 2 / Super 8 spot. A double win for Afghanistan, which included a massive 84-run victory over the Kiwis, has almost ensured them a guaranteed next-stage qualification, which means the head-to-head game of West Indies vs New Zealand is no less than a ..read more

As the WT20 moves towards match number 18th of the group stage at Providence stadium between 2 times champion West Indies and an emerging team Uganda, we might see some fine action taking place here as West Indies, in their 1st game, were very scratchy vs. PNG and vs the same png Uganda won the contest easily at the end. The group C qualification race is getting more exciting because of Afghanistan’s unexpected one-sided win over New Zealand. The group has become wide open, and the Windies will look to finish the game as soon as possible. Uganda can’t be underestimated, as we all know how the ..read more

Whenever an ICC tournament starts, the most anticipated and highly awaited match is the clash of the Asian arch-rivals India and Pakistan. The nations share a history dating back to 1947, so audiences of every age group look forward to being a part of every historic clash between these two sides, especially after the 2022 Virat Kohli saga. India and Pakistan have encountered each other for a total of 7 times in T20 World Cup. India emerged the winner in 6 matches, whereas Pakistan won only 1 (2021). Both teams played the last bilateral series in 2012, so the lack of matches also increases the ..read more