World Cup Cricket

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, South Africa Review: There's only one way for Proteas to go after another sorry campaign, and it's not up

Later this year, South Africa will go off to their theatre of nightmares, India, to play three T20s and as many Tests. That’s quite enough to have to deal with, but there’s still more. The game in South Africa seems determined to eat itself alive. At least, off the field.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-final scenarios: England qualify to join India, Australia; Pakistan face near-impossible task

South Africa, Afghanistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are out of reckoning while Australia, England and India made it to this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-finals.

Highlights, England vs Australia, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Match, Full Cricket Score: Finch, Behrendorff star in Australia's 64-run win

Australia win by 64 runs! At the halfway stage of the game, it looked Australia didn't have enough on the board, but eversince the second ball of the chase by Jason Behrendorff that cannoned into James Vince's middle stump, it was all Australia. Behrendorff with a five-wicket haul, Mitchell Starc claimed four and dismantled England. Ben Stokes gave a brief hope but Starc doused it with an absolute jaffa. England now in real danger of falling behind in the race of semi-final.

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Skipper Gulbadin Naib fumes at sloppy effort after another loss

Naib's men were guilty of a series of errors — dropping catches and committing careless misfields — as Bangladesh scored 262/7 in Southampton. Those blunders were worth an extra 35 runs according to the disgruntled Naib, who defended his decision to bowl first after winning the toss.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: India world class, but Bangladesh capable to beat them, says Shakib Al Hasan as race to semis gets hotter

Bangladesh will need to beat India (2 July) and Pakistan (5 July) in their final two group matches to salvage any hopes of a knockout stage.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: NRR's dependence on pitch conditions make it uncertain criterion to determine teams' progress

The problem arises when Net Run Rate is identified as a criterion. In the current scenario, at the end of the Pakistan vs South Africa league game, England (+1.457) have the best NRR. India (0.809) with as many wins and no losses are trailing far behind while Australia (0.849) with one win more than England are also trailing the host country. Surely, this is not a coincidence.

Pakistan vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Skipper Faf du Plessis terms loss 'borderline embarrassing' as Proteas exit tournament

Du Plessis was left red-faced as South Africa struggled to 259 for 9, chasing 309 against Pakistan. He blasted both his bowlers and the batsmen for their disappointing campaign at the 50-over showpiece.

Pakistan vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Bunch of walking dead Proteas stumble from indifference to ignominy

The current South Africa team has lost an important part of their South Africaness. They have worn their failures at this tournament too casually, and tried to explain them away too glibly.

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The pack offers 300 GB download at 50 Mbps speed bundled with a subscription of Hotstar Premium.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Rishabh Pant's inclusion in playing XI set to add variety to middle-order, bolster attacking prowess

Pant’s bat speed is commendable, thanks to his fast hands and low centre of gravity. This would come in handy in a quest for quick runs. Importantly he has scored big runs and knows the importance of strike rotation and the advantage accrued from staying at the wicket.