Pakistan demolished Scotland by 72 runs in their final Super 12 match in Group 2 of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, here at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Sunday.

New Zealand’s win over Afghanistan earlier in the day had temporarily pushed Pakistan down into second in Group 2, but Babar and his team will now qualify as group winners with a routine victory over Scotland. Men in Green lit up Sharjah with a stunning display of power-hitting to post 189/4 as Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik played innings of 66 and 54*, respectively. And in reply, Scotland never looked like chasing it down, finishing on 117/6, still 73 runs short.

Shadab Khan scalped two wickets while Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi returned with one for Pakistan.

Chasing 190, Scotland were 41/2 at the halfway point of the chase as they stared down the barrel of a heavy defeat. Pakistan clawed further deep as Shadab Khan struck twice in the 11th over to remove George Munsey and Dylan Budge.

With runs in scarcity, Michael Leask was sent back to the dressing room by Shaheen Afridi in the 16th over of the match. Haris Rauf removed Greaves in the last over as Scotland fell short 73 runs short of the target.

Earlier batting first, Pakistan produced a dominant performance with the bat in their final Super 12 game after winning the toss. Captain Babar Azam was in the runs again for his side, hitting a glorious 66 off 47, with quickfire contributions from Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, helping Pakistan to a sizeable total of 189/4.

Malik equalled India opener KL Rahul’s record of fastest fifty in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Malik achieved the feat in the ongoing match against Scotland as Pakistan look to end the Super 12 stage on a high. Malik smashed 54 runs in 18 balls as Pakistan scored 189 in 20 overs. In doing, the Pakistan batter equalled Rahul’s record of fastest fifty in this year’s T20 World Cup.

KL Rahul had scored 50 in 18 balls on Friday as India chased down 86 in 6.3 overs against Scotland.

Malik’s fifty is also the fastest half-century (18 balls) for Pakistan in T20 World Cup history.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 189/4 (Babar Azam 66, Shoaib Malik 54*; Chris Greaves 2-43, Hamza Tahir 1-24) vs Scotland 117/6 (Richie Berrington 54*, George Munsey 17; Shadab Khan 2-14, Shaheen Afridi 1-25)

The Russian Tennis Federation claimed Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Switzerland on Saturday in the championship tie to claim the premier team competition in women’s tennis for the fifth time.

They put an end to that 13-year drought after Daria Kasatkina and Liudmila Samsonova picked up singles wins to build an insurmountable 2-0 lead over the Swiss squad and capture the cup at the O2 Arena in Prague. The Russians denied Switzerland their maiden Billie Jean King Cup championship. The Swiss finish as runners-up for the second time, along with their finalist showing in 1998 when they fell to five-time champions Spain.

Kasatkina got the Russians off on the right foot with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jil Teichmann of Switzerland in the opening match. In the first meeting between the pair, World No.28 Kasatkina ousted World No.39 Teichmann in an hour and 19 minutes.

The cup was clinched when World No.40 Samsonova ousted 17th-ranked Belinda Bencic in a three-set comeback, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, after 2 hours and 22 minutes of gripping tennis.

Trent Boult starred with the bowl as New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by eight wickets in the Group 2 encounter of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, here at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Trent Boult scalped three wickets and gave just 17 runs in his entire four overs spell and restricted Afghanistan at 124/8. On the other hand, skipper Kane Williamson also played an unbeaten knock of 40 runs. This marks the end of Afghanistan’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 campaign along with India as they were dependant on Afghanistan’s victory in order to qualify for the semi-finals.

With this victory, New Zealand has made their place in the semi-finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Chasing 125, New Zealand faced no difficulties as they slowly and steadily moved towards victory. Openers Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell anchored the innings but the latter was later dismissed by Mujeeb ur Rehman in the fourth over, leaving the team’s total at 26/1.

Following Daryl’s dismissal, skipper Kane Williamson took the charge alongside Guptill to steady the ship for the Blackcaps. Just when Kiwis gained control of the match, Guptill departed in the ninth over by Rashid Khan.

It was later Williamson and Devon Conway’s partnership that led New Zealand to the finishing line with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier opting to bat first, Najibullah Zadran made a determined half-century but found little support from his teammates as Afghanistan were held to 124/8.

The four New Zealand pace bowlers shared seven wickets among themselves, with Trent Boult the pick of the lot with 3/17.

PLEASED WITH TEAM, SAYS NZ SKIPPER

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said the Black Caps had really pleasing outing against Nabi’s men ahead of the “strong challenge” posed by England in the semi-final match in this world cup.

Williamson in the post-match presentation said: “It was a strong performance. We know how dangerous this Afghanistan side is, they have got match-winners in all departments. It was nice to set the tone with the ball first up, take some early wickets which is always good and restricting them to a below-par score on a 150-155 surface.”

“In the second innings, we knew there were big threats to navigate and we tried to suck things up and get as close as we could. We would have batted first today, it’s not been the case in a number of the surfaces here. It’s certainly been a challenge to adjust quickly playing at three different venues. That’s the beauty of the game,” he added.

“We know we have got another strong challenge coming up in a few days time but really pleasing outing today for the team. Great fielding effort as well, that was outstanding. With the day games, it’s important to set the tone in the park and bring that energy and we saw that from everybody.”

“They (England) are a very strong side, for us it’s important we keep learning and focus on the sort of cricket we want to play. It’s been an incredibly tough competition and we’ve seen a lot of tight games as well. We are looking forward to the occasion,” he added.

END ON A HIGH FOR INDIA

Knocked out of contention for a place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, India will look to play for pride when they step out on the field against Namibia under Virat Kohli’s leadership for one last time in T20Is. The game will also see Ravi Shastri wear the head coach’s hat for one final time in what has been an impactful journey for the duo of Kohli and Shastri.

With Kohli deciding to relinquish T20I captaincy after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and Shastri’s term coming to an end, India will look to keep the disappointment of missing out on a semi-final spot by finishing the T20 World Cup campaign on a winning note. With New Zealand beating Afghanistan on Sunday, India’s hopes of making it to the semi-final were dashed and the Kohli-led side will now play a dead rubber against Namibia on Monday.

Victory against Namibia will also ensure that Kohli’s last game as captain in the shortest format ends on a winning note as does the journey of bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 124/8 (Najibullah Zadran 73, Gulbadin Naib 15; Rashid Khan 1-27) vs New Zealand 125/2 (Kane Williamson 40*, Devon Conway 36*; Trent Boult 3-17).

Kieron Pollard declared himself ‘heartbroken’ but ‘determined’ to fight on in the international game as West Indies’s Super 12 fate was confirmed with defeat to Sri Lanka on Thursday.

The Windies saw their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title defence flounder further as they went down by 20 runs in Abu Dhabi, making the top two an unreachable target. Pollard’s side were second best with bat and ball with the skipper pointing his finger at the former as central to their struggles. “I think it’s heartbreaking,” said the skipper after the match. “A lot of different things might have gone wrong from the start of the tournament, during the tournament. The batting has struggled throughout the entire tournament. It has been disappointing, it’s something we’ve seen over and over and it’s something that hasn’t helped us.” he said.

“We just have to accept we weren’t good enough. The guys are disappointed, I am disappointed myself. Hopefully at the end of the campaign when it’s finally over, we’ll be able to give some information what we think or what we thought might have gone wrong,” he pointed.

The vaunted powerful West Indies batting line-up has failed to fire thus far, with Andre Russell scoring seven runs and Chris Gayle 30 in four tournament innings. Pollard himself had to go from ball one in the run-chase and went for a golden duck, bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga to encapsulate his side’s struggles.With one more game to come against Australia, Pollard’s final message was a resolute one.

Ravichandran Ashwin said Virat Kohli plays with “his heart on his sleeve” and the latter’s energy as a team leader is also contagious.

“With respect to having dealt with him as a leader in the red-ball format. All I can say is he plays with his heart on his sleeve. Sometimes, when I watch Virat lead the side, I feel like how does he manage to bring so much energy. I really envy Virat energy level on the field and off it,” Ravichandran Ashwin said in a video posted by Star Sports on Twitter. “And I think that the energy he infuses on the field really absorbs on people. One thing is you can stand up tall and I can say at the top of my voice is the kind of culture he has brought in the team.”

It’s a well-known fact that Virat Kohli is among the best when it comes to captaincy especially in Test cricket. And one of the many things which have helped him in achieving this feat is his ever-contagious energy on and off the field.Talking about the numbers, Kohli is the most successful Indian skipper in Test cricket. Under his 65-match stint as captain, India have won 38 matches with remarkable Test series victories in foreign soils as well. Only Steve Waugh (41 wins), Ricky Ponting (48 wins) and Graeme Smith (53 wins) have more Test wins as skipper now.

“In terms of making each of us realise, how each one’s fitness parameter is so important. I can never aspire to be a Virat Kohli on the field, gym or whatever it is but I can be the best version of myself which is something he has made everyone realise in the team,” Ashwin added.

Since, making his debut in 2008, Kohli has played 254 ODIs, 96 Tests, and 92 T20Is for the national side. He has several records in all the formats and is the only batter to have a 50-plus average in all three formats of the game at the same time.

Ever since 2004 Athens Olympics, Indian shooters have always been prospects for a Medal at the world’s elite sports event. For a country that is identified as the obesity and diabetic capital of the world, there has been little to rejoice beyond the colonial sport of cricketing adventures. The Tokyo Olympics served as oxygen for the medal starved sports lovers in India.

While there was a wave of celebration as Neeraj Chopra brought home India’s first Olympic Gold Medal in athletics with an astounding Javelin throw on 7th August. The celebrations continued with the Silver medals in the women’s 49 kg weightlifting courtesy Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and grappler Ravi Kumar Dahiya in the men’s freestyle 57 kg. Ace shuttler P. V. Sindhu, pugilist Lovlina Borgohain in the Women’s welterweight, wrestler Bajrang Punia and the scintillating performance from the Men’s Hockey team helped India bag 4 Bronze medals in Tokyo.

This was undoubtedly the most successful outing that any Indian contingent ever had in an extremely long time. But there was an uncanny sense of disappointment from the shooters who came back not only empty handed, but far below their own individual standards. The 15 member strong contingent boasted of some stellar shooters who were expected to win big at the world’s biggest sporting stage. In Tokyo, Saurabh Chaudhary was the lone Indian shooter to reach a final which seemed a step further backwards than Rio 2016 where out of a squad of 12, two managed to reach the final rounds of the quadrennial games in Brazil.

Manu Bhaker’s first Olympics did unsettle the nerves of the young 19 year old who had struck gold in multiple ISSF World cups, Doha Asian Championships and the Commonwealth games in Gold Coast. Apart from Equipment malfunctioning, her performance in the latter rounds slipped as her scores dipped as the competition progressed. Bhaker is definitely a shooter in the making and will carry the weight of the entire nation as a stronger and more fierce competitor as she ages with the right mix of experience and maturity.

The question many of the country’s sports lovers wonder is that can anyone take India’s mantle as high as the legendary shooters like Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Vijay Kumar? Well thankfully, the signs seem to be positive and reassuring. The best part of the sport is that these legends have also given time and effort to invest in the next generation of shooters. While they are being groomed by the National Rifle Association of India, the Government and iconic shooters like Dronacharya Jaspal Rana taking the responsibility of nurturing the next generation of shooters who aspire to emulate the heroics of their heroes.

It was heartwarming to see the Indian Tricolour fly high at the recently concluded ISSF Junior World Shooting Champions that were held in Lima, Peru last month. India topped the medal tally with 43 medals of which 17 were Gold, 16 Silver and 10 were Bronze. Their nearest rival the United States of America were distant second place winners with only 21 medals in their kitty which included 7 Golds, 8 Silvers and 6 Bronze medals. Italy with 10 medals finished third. For the Indian team, of the total 43 medals won, 26 medals were claimed by Pistol shooters while 9 came from Shotgun and 8 Medals were won by Rifle shooters.

Manu Bhaker struck Gold in the 10m Air Pistol with a score of 241.3 points. Her confidence and nerves needed a boost after her spell at the Tokyo Olympics. She bagged five medals in Lima which include four golds and a bronze. However, the surprise package came in the form of Naamya Kapoor, a 14 year old wonder girl from Delhi, who stole the thunder from her senior rivals as she won Gold in the 25m Pistol event. Camille Jedrzejewski of France settled for Silver while Manu took the Bronze for India.

India clean sweeped the Individual Men’s 25m Standard Pistol with Vijayveer Sidhu, Udhayveer Sidhu and Harsh Gupta claiming the top three medals. The Women’s Individual 25m Standard Pistol event had a similar result with Rhythm Sangwan winning the Gold, Niveditha Veloor Nair the Silver and Naamya Kapoor bagging the Bronze. India continued to dominate in the 50m Pistol event by claiming top three sports with a commendable show from Shikha Narwal, Esha Singh and Navdeep Kaur.

Every championship has its share of nail-biting finishes and the Men’s Individual 50m Pistol event went to the wire. While India once again swept all the medals, the element of surprise was that the top three were tied with identical scores of 549 and had to be separated by the count of inner 10s and/or the best last series. Arjun Singh Cheema was adjudged as the Winner, Shaurya Sarin was awarded the Silver, while Ajinkya Chavan settled for the Bronze. The overall performances from these young shooters needs a worthy applause. Ace shooter and renowned coach Jaspal Rana is of the opinion that these young shooters and their parents should still be patient and take their game ahead with caution.