The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja has planned to reward their entire T20 World Cup squad players for their performances with cash prices and awards tomorrow. Babar Azam led the side very impressively throughout the tournament and it was unfortunate for them to have lost out on the semi-final against Australia after being unbeaten in the tournament until the knockouts. Australia went on to win their first-ever T20 World Cup after beating New Zealand in the finals.

Apart from reaching the semis, Pakistan also managed to beat India for the first time in a World Cup game and the men in blue’s unbeaten streak finally came to an end. The impressive show from the Pakistan side grabbed a lot of attention from the fans around the world despite them not managing to win the title. The 15-member squad comprised of experienced hands and youngsters will all be part of the prize distribution ceremony.

Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik

PCB looking to bring India-Pakistan rivalry back

Ramiz had recently mentioned he is planning to make a proposal to ICC to have more India-Pakistan games by conducting a four-team T20I tournament. The other two teams that could take part are England and Australia who are currently battling out in the Ashes Tests. The India-Pakistan game in the Super 12 stages of the T20 World cup 2021 broke the records for the highest viewership of 15.6 billion minutes and the fans will be really excited to see the rivalry more often.

Pakistan has also made huge inroads in terms of hosting international games back in the country. Australia, England, and New Zealand are all set to tour the subcontinent nation in 2022 for the limited-overs series. The men in green will next play a home Test series in the month of March as PSL is about to start in a few days’ time from the 27th of January.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s inclusion in India’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad was nothing less than a surprise as the veteran off-spinner hadn’t played white-ball cricket for Indian since 2017. While Ashwin wasn’t immediately inducted in the playing XI, he got a chance after India’s defeat in the first two games. The off-spinner made full use of the opportunity and claimed six wickets in three outings with his economy rate being below six.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has revealed that the then skipper Virat Kohli, who stepped down as T20I captain after the tournament, wanted Ashwin in the squad. Ganguly also accepted that he wasn’t certain about Ashwin’s inclusion as he hadn’t played T20I cricket since a while. However, the spinner eventually got a chance and Ganguly was pleased with his performance.

You can’t ignore a player like Ravi Ashwin: Sourav Ganguly 

“I wasn’t sure whether he would be a part of the white-ball (set-up). But then Virat Kohli wanted him in the side. And whatever little bit of opportunity he got, I thought he was superb,” Ganguly said Boria Majumdar’s show ‘Backstage with Boria’. Ganguly also said that Ashwin’s phenomenal Test record makes him hard to ignore.

“Look at his Test record, it is phenomenal. It does not need me to say Ravichandran Ashwin is exceptional. His record and his performances show that he is exceptional. And you can’t ignore such players. You cannot just turn your eyes and say that he’s gone. I am not surprised with what he is doing,” said the former Indian captain.

“Everybody speaks about him. Look at Rahul Dravid’s statement after the (Kanpur) Test match – he called him an all-time great and one of the biggest match-winners. You don’t need rocket science to judge Ashwin’s talent. My appreciation just comes from what I see. It may be Ashwin, it may be (Shreyas) Iyer, it may be Rohit (Sharma), it may be Virat (Kohli). And I just say what I see. There is nothing more to it,” he added.

Gangly also hinted that Ashwin would remain a part of India’s upcoming plans in white-ball cricket. “I don’t see a reason why (I shouldn’t back him). Look at the number of winning teams he has been a part of. 2011 World Cup, he was part of the winning team for India. 2013, when he won the Champions Trophy, he was a leading bowler in that tournament,” asserted the 49-year-old.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has stated that he will not reveal the discussions that he had with Indian captain Virat Kohli before the toss on 24th October 2021, during the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Both these cricketing stalwarts were seen having a chat on the day the two arch-rivals clashed on the biggest stage in the T20 format of the game.

“I won’t reveal the discussion in front of everyone,” said Babar Azam as quoted by Samaa TV, when he was asked about what the two cricketers spoke about before the toss.

Pakistan decimated India by 10 wickets in the T20 World Cup

As far as the match is concerned, it was the Pakistan side that came out on top. The ‘Men in Green’ absolutely hammered the Indian side with 10 wickets to spare, and recorded their first-ever World Cup win against their arch-rivals.

India wielded the willow first and posted a competitive total of 151, with skipper Virat Kohli leading the way with a classy 49-ball 57. However, the Pakistan side made light work of the chase and chased down the target in disdainful fashion.

The Pakistan openers, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam destroyed the Indian bowling attack, as Pakistan romped home with all 10 wickets in their kitty. Both Rizwan and Azam plundered half-centuries.

India were knocked out of the 2021 T20 World Cup in the Super 12 stages of the tournament. On the other hand, the Pakistan side qualified to the knockout stages of the competition, where they were beaten by eventual champions Australia in the semi-finals.

Babar Azam was the leading run-getter of the 2021 T20 World Cup and amassed 303 runs in 6 innings at a superb average of 60.60. He also scored 4 fifties in the tournament as well.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has termed India’s early exit from the T20 World Cup 2021 as the side’s ‘poorest’ performance in the last 4-5 years. The Men in Blue, who entered the tournament as favourites, endured a horrendous campaign and got knocked out of the league stage. It was the first instance of India not making to the knock-out stage of an ICC event since their ouster in the 2012 T20 World Cup.

With the Virat Kohli-led side not living up to the expectations, the team faced criticism from different corners. Ganguly didn’t either hesitate in calling the side’s performance poor. The former Indian captain’s comments came after he was asked the why India couldnt even qualifying for the semi-finals despite performing brilliantly in all bilateral series in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Little disappointed with the way India played this World Cup: Sourav Ganguly

“To be honest, 2017 [and] 2019, I think India was good. 2017 Champions Trophy we lost the final to Pakistan at the Oval, I was a commentator then. Then the 2019 World Cup in England, we were exceptional right throughout, beat everyone and lost to New Zealand in the semi-final – one bad day and the entire good work for two months was just wiped away,” he said in a conversation with journalist Boria Majumdar on his show “Backstage with Boria.”

“[I am] a little disappointed with the way we played this World Cup. I think this has been the poorest of all what I have seen in the last four-five years,” added the former Indian captain. While Ganguly didn’t pinpoint where India went wrong, he reckoned sometimes teams are not able to click in mega events. He also said the team was playing just 15 percent to its capacity.

“I don’t know what’s the reason but I just felt they did not play with enough freedom this World Cup. Sometimes it happens in big tournaments, you just get stuck and when I saw them playing against Pakistan and New Zealand – I just felt this was the team which was playing to 15% of its ability. And sometimes you can’t just a finger on it that this is the reason why it happened,” the 49-year-old added.

Faf du Plessis has opened up on his exclusion from South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad. The 37-year-old, despite being in sensational form in the build-up to the tournament, which included his 633-run IPL 2021 with season champions Chennai Super Kings, found himself out of contention for the national team for the multi-team event in the United Arab Emirates.

Du Plessis, who is currently representing the Bangla Tigers at the Abu Dhabi T10 League, admitted that he desired to play for the Proteas at the short-format World Cup, which prompted him to announce his retirement from Test cricket. He reckoned that CSA had “unrealistic expectations” from the players.

“I am on a different journey now. Last year, when I played for South Africa against England in the series there, the plan was still very much to play in the World Cup. And the talks were that leading up to that. But at that time, it was just really difficult for Cricket South Africa and myself to find something that allows me to still play overseas,” du Plessis told ESPNcricinfo.

“That was the reason why I retired from Test cricket. They tried to, but we couldn’t find a middle ground and I think they wanted people that are available all the time. That made it a challenge for the guys like myself and Imran Tahir, because we were playing overseas [franchise leagues] as well. I think that’s the challenge now, because we are playing overseas, if they don’t want us to play all the games, it’s probably an unrealistic expectation,” he added.

For me, age doesn’t matter: Faf du Plessis

As fit as ever, du Plessis said that his age does not bother him, and he is still “very motivated” to play the game.

“I still feel physically like I’m in a really good condition to play for however long I want to play for, so I’m fortunate that physically I can do that,” he said. “For me, age doesn’t really matter, like it would for someone else maybe. It’s the mental freshness and the motivation that becomes the two challenges for me. And I’m still very motivated.”

Meanwhile, with the next T20 World Cup coming in less than a year’s time, head coach Mark Boucher has stated that every player is very much in contention to find a spot in the team.

“I certainly don’t think the door is closed for anyone. The Faf conversation was had, and unfortunately, it just didn’t work out with the scheduling and all that stuff. It’s been tough during Covid times and bubble life, I understand from his perspective with family, has been very tough,” he was quoted by iol.co.za.

New Zealand batter Colin Munro has come to terms with his 2021 T20 World Cup snub, while he also admits that his international career might have come to a close, albeit not by his own choice.

Munro was not a part of either New Zealand squad for the Bangladesh and Pakistan series preceding the World Cup, as he made himself unavailable to ensure his participation for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League 2020-21, which he feels played its part in his non-selection. Meanwhile, New Zealand lost to Bangladesh 2-3, whereas it cancelled the Pakistan tour owing to security threats.

The 34-year-old, however, had questions in his mind over Adam Milne’s inclusion in the World Cup squad, given Milne left his domestic contract with New Zealand to represent BBL franchise Sydney Thunder, but was still named as a travelling reserve, and was eventually drafted into the team as a replacement of injured Lockie Ferguson. Munro had taken to his Instagram story immediately after the squad announcement to express his disappointment over his non-selection.

“Yeah, at the time [when he was not selected in the World Cup squad], to be honest I was very disappointed with the communication about why I wasn’t selected, rather than ‘guys have gone ahead of you’. I don’t really see how that was, with my international record,” Munro was quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “But now I’ve made peace with it, towards the back end my career, I can’t be too bitter.”

“I’ve grown up a little bit, if this was 25 or 26-year-old Colin getting that information I would have been all over social media too much. Whereas now I’ve sort of just gone about my business and know that chapter is probably closed. And I’m just fortunate enough that there are some leagues around the world that I can still ply my trade and get looked after pretty well.”

“I’m pretty comfortable. I think the thing that probably hurt me the most was coming to the Scorchers last year and not playing the home summer. Then I asked about Milney [Adam Milne], he gave up his contract and I was sort of told that it’s comparing apples and oranges. So, I just sort of left it at that.

“Financially for me, and it’s not always about finance, but when you’ve got two kids and you’re trying to set them up as well as you can, it was a no brainer for me to come over and play.”

It was tough to see someone else opening: Colin Munro

Munro, who last played for New Zealand in the home T20I series against India in early 2020, admitted “it was a bit tough” to see someone else opening for the team despite not being a designated opener, although he spoke highly of Daryl Mitchell, who took the role and played it to perfection.

“It was a bit tough,” he said. “Especially when you see somebody that doesn’t open the batting but give credit to Daryl Mitchell, he batted really well.

Munro will now regroup with Perth Scorchers for the upcoming BBL edition, which starts December 5

Former batter Inzamam-ul-Haq reckoned that Team India was under immense pressure even before the start of their T20 World Cup 2021 match against Pakistan. On Sunday, October 24, Babar Azam and Co. defeated the Men in Blue by 10 wickets to register their maiden World Cup win over their Asian opponents.

Babar and Mohammad Rizwan stitched together a 152-run stand for the opening wicket to take Pakistan home with utmost ease. Inzamam said that between Babar and Virat Kohli, the one, who was more under pressure, was clearly palpable.

Indian team never plays the way they did, says Inzamam-ul-Haq

“I feel the Indians were scared even before the match started. Their body language, if you see Virat Kohli and Babar Azam’s interview at the toss, you could sense who was under pressure,” Inzamam told on ARY Sports.

“Our team’s body language was much better than theirs. It wasn’t that India were under pressure after Rohit Sharma’s dismissal. Sharma himself was under pressure. It was evident that they all were under pressure even before the match began,” he stated.

Once Shaheen Shah Afridi got rid of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma early, there was no stopping Pakistan. Inzamam said that India were title contenders from the beginning, but extreme pressure got the better of them.

“Indian team never plays the way they did. They are a good T20 team, there is no doubt about it. If you look at their performance in the last 2-3 years, they were the favourites. But that India-Pakistan match put so much pressure on them that there was no looking back.

After losing to Pakistan, India lost by eight wickets at the hands of New Zealand, led by Kane Williamson, at the same venue in Dubai.

“Their feet weren’t moving at all. After losing to Pakistan, they were handed so much criticism and there was a 3-4 day break. The poor guys couldn’t even play Santner and Sodhi. They are such good players of spin,” Inzamam added.

India beat Scotland, Namibia and Afghanistan to win three games in a row, but failed to qualify for the semis. The tournament was also Virat Kohli’s last as the skipper of India’s T20I team.

Nearly 10,000 hours of live coverage – more than ever before – offered across TV and digital platforms in 200 countries at the back of increased viewership and consumption in India, Pakistan, the UK, Australia, and the strategic market of USA.

Cricket and sports fans across the world enjoyed unparalleled coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 when the tournament returned after five years. The pinnacle of the shortest format of the sport offered explosive cricket and entertainment for everyone and featured cricket’s biggest names and best teams.  The event, the biggest ever cricket tournament to be staged in the UAE and Oman, broke viewership records in several regions, including garnering a record reach of television reach of 167 million, and a record consumption of 15.9 billion minutes in India on the Star India Network, for the highly-anticipated India-Pakistan clash.

The encounter is now the most viewed T20I match in history, exceeding the previous high of the India-West Indies semi-final match from the 2016 edition of the ICC event held in India. The overall TV consumption for the full tournament in India was recorded at 112 billion minutes, this despite India’s early exit from the tournament. Viewership share amidst younger audiences in India (children below the age of 15) was at a healthy 18.5% at the back of a highly successful marketing campaign “Live the Game” targeting a younger demographic.

Digital consumption for the tournament saw explosive growth on Disney+ Hotstar in India, adding significantly to the overall television viewership in the market.

Tremendous viewership in the UK and Australia for 2021 T20 World Cup

In the UK, viewership for the India v Pakistan match grew by 60% on Sky UK whereas the overall viewership for the market went up by 7%. In Pakistan, the event was being broadcast by three players for the first time namely PTV, ARY, and Ten Sports, which led to further growth in viewership by 7.3% compared to the 2016 edition of the event.

In Australia, the viewership increased by 175% on the Fox Network. In the USA, which the ICC recently named as one of the focus markets for the sport, the tournament was the most viewed cricket tournament ever on ESPN+.

ICC’s partnership with Facebook was a driver for the significant increase in video views, with a total of 4.3 billion views across all channels for the tournament, compared to 3.6 billion views which were garnered for the 2019 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

The consumption across ICC’s digital assets also grew, recording a total of 2.55 billion minutes. ICC’s social media channels also saw a significant growth in engagement at 618 million across those platforms, which is a 28% jump since the 2019 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said: “We are pleased with these outstanding global viewership numbers, that demonstrate the power of T20I cricket to attract a huge audience across the globe on linear and digital platforms. It reinforces our belief that there is a significant opportunity and appetite to grow the game in our strategic growth markets including the USA, so more fans can enjoy it, more kids are inspired by it and sponsors and broadcasters want to be a part of it.”

Adam Zampa had every chance of picking up a hat-trick in the T20 World Cup 2021 in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. In the Super 12 match against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, he was at his very best, picking up five wickets for a mere 19 runs in his four overs. He also fetched the Player of the Match award as the Aussies won the match by eight wickets.

The hat-trick would only have been an icing on the cake as far as Zampa is concerned. In the 11th over of the Tigers’ innings, he got rid of Shamim Hossain Patwary and Mahedi Hasan, who got out for a golden duck. In the first ball of the 15th over, Zampa stood on a hat-trick with Taskin Ahmed on strike. The tweaker bowled a googly outside the off-stump after which Taskin went for a drive.

But the batter could only manage a thickish outside-edge. Matthew Wade, the wicketkeeper, however, failed to grasp the ball. Zampa, quite understandably, was disappointed. In the same over, Zampa got rid of lower-order batters Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam.

In the meantime, Zampa churned out a hilarious post on Instagram, poking fun at Wade for dropping the catch. The tweaker uploaded a picture where Wade’s keeping gloves can be seen up for sale for a decent price. He also shared pictures with his teammates after Australia won the World Cup

Adam Zampa’s post

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by adam zampa (@zampstagram)

Zampa, without much of a doubt, was the pick of the bowlers for Australia in the mega event. He was the leading wicket-taker for his country, having notched 13 scalps at an average of 12.07 and a strike rate of 12.4. His economy rate of 5.81 suggests that the opposition batters had a tough time while facing him.

Apart from the game against England where he went for 37 runs, Zampa looked in excellent rhythm with the ball in hand. Even in the final against New Zealand in Dubai, he got the important wicket of opener Martin Guptill and gave away only 26 runs from four overs. In 57 T20Is, Zampa has accounted for 65 wickets with one five-wicket haul.

The 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup recently ended with Australia lifting the prestigious title for the very first time. It was indeed a fascinating tournament as some exciting contest was witnessed between the bat and the ball. Also, it was the first ICC tournament after the COVID-19 came into the picture. Hence, players had to tackle several different challenges during the course of the competition.

Speaking of how the tournament panned out, 16 teams took part out of which the top eight were directly awarded a place in the Super 12 stage while the remaining eight teams had to battle it out in a preliminary round with four places in the next stage at stake. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Namibia, and Scotland were the teams to qualify for the main round.

The Super 12 stage saw many uncertain games as defending champions West Indies won just one of their five games and subsequently, got knocked out of the competition. India were the other side which shocked fans with their failure. Despite having stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian side couldn’t even clear the league stage.

Meanwhile, the four teams to qualify for the knock-out round were England, Australia, New Zealand, and Pakistan. While England meet the Kiwis in the semi-finals, Australia were up against Babar Azam’s Pakistan. Interestingly, both Australia and New Zealand were the dark horses of their respective semi-final fixtures as an England vs Pakistan summit clash seemed a certainty.

However, the saying goes: ‘the only thing certain in cricket is certainty.’ Hence, the Aussies and the Kiwis emerged victoriously and a Trans-Tasman battle was on display on the night of the finals. Interestingly, Australia donned the Yellow jersey which they sport in ODIs instead of the dark green kit which they used throughout the global event.

They indeed played like the vintage Australian team as the Kane Williamson-led side looked on the backfoot despite posting a challenging 172/4 while batting first at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. However, blistering half-centuries from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh helped the Aussies cross the line in 18.5 overs, clinching the game by eight wickets.

All in all, the seventh edition of the T20 World Cup had many memorable moments which will remain forever in the memory of fans. While there were some shocking failures, several players and teams also exceeded expectations.

Now it’s time to check out your knowledge in this quiz based on the T20 World Cup 2021. Use your knowledge and memory and see if you can score 10/10 in this intriguing challenge.