Batsman Unmukt Chand and bowler Ali Khan both played starring roles to help the Sunil Narine-led Los Angeles Knight Riders open their 2024 Major League Cricket season with a 12-run win over the Texas Super Kings at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday.
Chand, a former India Under-19 Captain, starred with a 45-ball 68 to help lead the Knight Riders to 162-7 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Super Kings.
The 31-year-old hit six fours and three sixes and was well supported by Nitish Kumar who hit 26 off 17 balls including a four and two sixes.
Left-arm pacer Zia-ul-Haq took 2-16 from three overs for the Super Kings while Aaron Hardie and Marcus Stoinis took two wickets, each.
The Knight Riders were then able to restrict the Super Kings to 150-8 from their 20 overs thanks to some tight bowling throughout the innings.
Devon Conway led the Texas batting charge with 53 off 39 balls including four fours and two sixes while Calvin Savage made 29* off 18 balls.
Pacer Ali Khan took 4-33 from his four overs while Spencer Johnson bowled brilliantly up front on his way to figures of 2-18 from his four overs.
Sunil Narine was economic as usual with 1-23 from his four overs while Andre Russell went wicketless, conceding 25 in three overs.
Full Scores:
Los Angeles Knight Riders 162-7 off 20 overs (Unmukt Chand 68, Nitish Kumar 26, Zia-ul-Haq 2-16, Aaron Hardie 2-26, Marcus Stoinis 2-37)
Texas Super Kings 150-8 off 20 overs (Devon Conway 53, Calvin Savage 29*, Ali Khan 4-33, Spencer Johnson 2-18)
Nicholas Pooran hit 62* to lead defending champions MI New York to a six-wicket win over the Seattle Orcas to kick off the second edition of Major League Cricket at Church Street Park in Morrisville on Friday.
After winning the toss and electing to field first, the MI New York bowlers dominated the Orcas batting, restricting them to 108 all out off 19.1 overs.
Shubham Ranjane (35), Harmeet Singh (20) and Aaron Jones (12) were the only batsmen to reach double figures for the Orcas against 3-22 and 3-25 from eight overs combined from superstars Rashid Khan and Trent Boult, respectively.
Captain Kieron Pollard also chipped in with 2-11 from his 2.1 overs.
It then took MI New York only 14.2 overs to reach 111-4 with Pooran finishing 62* off 37 balls, his 41st T20 half-century.
His knock included seven fours and two sixes.
Full Scores:
Seattle Orcas 108 all out off 19.1 overs (Shubham Ranjane 35, Rashid Khan 3-22, Trent Boult 3-25)
MI New York 111-4 off 14.2 overs (Nicholas Pooran 62*, Cameron Gannon 2-40)
The Colombo Stars opened their 2024 Lanka Premier League campaign with a win over the Kandy Falcons at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The Falcons, who opened their campaign with a win on Monday, put the Strikers in to bat after winning the toss.
Colombo made use of the opportunity, posting 198-7 from their 20 overs.
It was a collective effort with the bat for the Stars as Sadeera Samarawickrama, skipper Thisara Perera, Muhammad Waseem, Chamika Karunaratne and Shadab Khan all made solid contributions.
Samarawickrama led the way with 48 from 26 balls including seven fours and a six while being well supported by Perera (38 off 30), Waseem (32 off 18), Karunaratne (25* off 10) and Khan (20 off 17).
Falcons captain Wanindu Hasaranga took 2-30 from his four overs.
The Falcons got starts from Dinesh Chandimal, Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews and Andre Fletcher but they weren’t enough as their chase fizzled out, eventually being dismissed for 147 with one ball left in the 16th over.
Chandimal made a top score of 38 while Hasaranga, Matthews and Fletcher made scores of 25, 25 and 24, respectively.
Shadab Khan led the way with 4-22 from his four overs including the tournament’s first hat-trick in the 15th over.
Dunith Wellalage took 4-20 from 3.5 overs.
Full Scores:
Colombo Stars 198-7 from 20 overs (Sadeera Samarawickrama 48, Thisara Perera 38, Muhammad Waseem 32, Chamika Karunaratne 25*, Shadab Khan 20, Wanindu Hasaranga 2-30)
Kandy Falcons 147 off 15.5 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 38, Wanindu Hasaranga 25, Angelo Mathews 25, Andre Fletcher 24, Dunith Wellalage 4-20, Shadab Khan 4-22)
Action continues on Wednesday when the Dambulla Sixers take on the Jaffna Kings at 4:30 AM before the Colombo Strikers face the Galle Marvels at 9:30 AM (Jamaica Time).
Both games can be seen live on Sportsmax.
A solid bowling effort from West Indian all-rounder Fabian Allen was not enough to prevent the Jaffna Kings from going sown by five wickets to the Galle Marvels in match two of the 2024 Lanka Premier League at the Pallekele International Stadium on Tuesday.
The Kings, after winning the toss and batting first, posted 177-7 from their 20 overs.
Avishka Fernando was the main contributor for the three-time champions with 59 from 48 balls while Pathum Nissanka hit 51 off 33 balls.
Fernando’s innings included seven fours and a six while Nissanka hit six fours and two sixes.
Captain Charith Asalanka also contributed a 15-ball 33 against 3-34 off four overs from Zahoor Khan and 2-23 from four overs from Dwayne Pretorius.
The Marvels then used all of the 120 balls available to them to successfully chase down their target.
Alex Hales led the way with 65 off 47 balls including seven fours and two sixes while Captain Niroshan Dickwella made 47 off 27 balls including eight fours and a six as Galle reached 179-5 off 20 overs.
Janith Liyanage also made a crucial 13-ball 25 for Galle. It eventually came down to them needing three runs off the last ball, a ball that Sahan Arachchige hit for four to seal the win.
Fabian Allen took 2-33 from his four overs for the Kings.
Full Scores:
Jaffna Kings 177-7 off 20 overs (Avishka Fernando 59, Pathum Nissanka 51, Charith Asalanka 33, Zahoor Khan 3-34, Dwayne Pretorius 2-23)
Galle Marvels 179-5 off 20 overs (Alex Hales 65, Niroshan Dickwella 47, Janith Liyanage 25, Fabian Allen 2-33, Avishka Fernando 2-40)
Andre Fletcher’s Kandy Falcons opened the 2024 Lanka Premier League season with a six-wicket win over the Dambulla Sixers at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday.
The Sixers, after being put in to bat by the Falcons, first posted a respectable 179-4 from their 20 overs.
New Zealand’s Mark Chapman led the way with an excellent unbeaten 91* off 61 balls including eight fours and four sixes while Chamindu Wickramsinghe provided excellent support with 62* off 42 balls including four fours and three sixes.
Dasun Shanaka took 3-20 from his four overs for the Falcons.
Then, despite a first-ball duck from Fletcher at the top of the innings, the Falcons successfully reached 183-4 off just 17.2 overs.
Fletcher’s opening partner Dinesh Chandimal led the way with a 40-ball 65 including six fours and three sixes while Shanaka and Angelo Matthews provided the finishing touches with 46* off 15 balls and 37* off 20 balls, respectively.
Full Scores:
Dambulla Sixers 179-4 off 20 overs (Mark Chapman 91*, Chamindu Wickramsinghe 62*, Dasun Shanaka 3-20)
Kandy Falcons 183-4 off 17.2 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 65, Dasun Shanaka 46*, Angelo Matthews 37*)
The league continues on Tuesday with the Jaffna Kings taking on the Galle Marvels at 4:30 AM before the Colombo Strikers take on the Kandy Falcons at 9:00 AM (Jamaica Time).
Both games will be shown live on Sportsmax.
England Test captain Ben Stokes has backed Jos Buttler to stay on as skipper of the country's limited-overs sides after their T20 World Cup semi-final loss to India.
England slumped to a 68-run defeat to India on Thursday as their title defence came crashing to a halt, being skittled out for just 103 in Guyana.
Buttler's team endured an up-and-down tournament, relying on old rivals Australia to beat Scotland in order to save them from a group-stage exit before going through as runners-up again in the Super-8s.
Buttler has promised an in-depth review will take place as the dust settles on a second World Cup failure in as many years, after the ODI side relinquished the 50-over crown in India last year.
While pressure is mounting on Buttler, Stokes is confident he remains the right man to lead England into the future.
"Jos is the man to lead that white-ball team forward," Stokes told BBC Sport. "He is a great leader. He's got the respect of all the team members in the dressing room.
"They have done a great job in getting to another major semi-final. Being part of sport is about growing and progressing your side. It's not shabby to say you got through to a World Cup semi-final."
Stokes, who opted out of playing at the T20 World Cup after playing at the 50-over tournament in 2023, feels the scrutiny faced by Buttler's team is not too dissimilar to that endured by England's footballers.
The Three Lions have been fiercely criticised for their tepid performances at Euro 2024 despite topping their group with the tournament's best defensive record, and Stokes feels sportspeople in England face a unique kind of pressure.
"Unfortunately, it's the way the English mentality is – they have got through and they are getting a load of grief," Stokes said of Gareth Southgate's team.
"I know what it’s like. I guess that comes from expectation and everyone wanting their team to do well."
England captain Jos Buttler promised a thorough review will take place after his side's T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to India on Thursday.
The defending champions, who beat the same opponents at the same stage of the tournament back in 2022, were bowled out for 103 as they crashed to a 68-run loss.
India, who have not won a World Cup for 13 years, will play first-time finalists South Africa - a meeting of the tournament's two unbeaten sides in Barbados.
It is the second world title England have had relinquished in the past eight months following their disappointing defence of the 50-over World Cup last year.
"You take some time to review tournaments and try to plan ahead for the next tournaments," said Buttler following the defeat in Guyana.
"We have to review what we need to do better as a team, if that is the way we play, personnel, style of cricket.
"We will review everything and come up with a plan."
Buttler replaced Eoin Morgan as England's white-ball captain in 2022 and led them to their T20 World Cup success in Australia later that year.
He suggested he wants to stay on as captain until the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, which takes place in February next year.
However, he added: "I am not thinking too far ahead to be honest and reflecting on the loss today, trying to review that. I haven’t thought past today."
England are next in action in a three-match Test series against West Indies, starting on July 10.
Aiden Markram praised South Africa's bowlers following their nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan to book their place in the T20 World Cup final.
The Proteas were forced to bowl first, having lost the toss, but reduced their opponents to 28-6 in 6.3 overs as Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada starred.
Afghanistan were bowled out for 56 after just 11.5 overs, and despite the early loss of Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks and Markram steered South Africa into their maiden men's world cup final.
"(We were) fortunate to have lost the toss, I guess. We also would have batted, so we got a bit of luck with regards to that," Markram said at the presentation ceremony. "But the bowlers still had to get it in the right areas.
"They got enough balls in the right areas and made life really tough for the Afghanistan batters. So, credit to them.
"They've been incredible throughout this whole competition for us. They've kept things really simple and sort of assessed conditions and adapted their plans accordingly. And they've been incredible for us so far."
It proved to be third time lucky for South Africa, having lost both of their previous semi-final appearances at the tournament.
"Chuffed to have got it over the line. A lot of our games have been really close," Markram said on his side's narrow wins during this year's tournament.
"And I know there (have been) a lot of people back at home in the early hours of the morning, waking up, and we (have been) giving them a lot of grey hairs.
"So, hopefully, this evening was a little bit more comforting for them."
South Africa reached the T20 World Cup final for the first time by thrashing Afghanistan by nine wickets in Wednesday's first semi-final in Trinidad.
The Proteas suffered heartache on both of their previous semi-final appearances at the tournament, but it was a case of third time lucky this year as Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada demolished the Afghanistan top order.
Afghanistan managed just 56 through 11.5 overs on a dreadful pitch, their lowest ever total in T20Is, as Jansen finished with figures of 3-16 and Rabada managed 2-14.
The World Cup's leading run scorer Rahmanullah Gurbaz was removed for a duck just six balls in as he edged Jansen's delivery to Reeza Hendricks, and the score was 28-6 before the end of the seventh over.
No Afghanistan player bettered Azmatullah Omarzai's 10 runs, with spinner Tabraiz Shamsi polishing off the tail with figures of 3-6, trapping both Karim Janat (8) and Noor Ahmad (0) lbw within three 10th-over deliveries.
South Africa's ability to chase down their target was never in doubt, despite Quinton de Kock (5) being bowled full-on by Fazalhaq Farooqi, who took the outright record for most wickets at a single edition of the tournament with his 17th dismissal.
That was the only consolation for Afghanistan, though, as Hendricks (29) and skipper Aiden Markram (23) carried the Proteas home within 8.5 overs.
Data Debrief: Proteas bowlers dominate
Afghanistan entered the semi-finals with the best bowling strike rate (13.5) of any team at the 2024 T20 World Cup, but it was South Africa who excelled with the ball to set up a routine victory.
Afghanistan were skittled for the lowest ever total of any team in a finals match at the tournament, with the Proteas' bowlers combining efficiency with destruction.
They will now face either India or England in Saturday's final, having already beaten the latter once at this tournament.
South Africa coach Rob Walter says his players will not feel the burden of near misses in the past as they prepare for their T20 World Cup semi-final against Afghanistan.
The Proteas withstood a nervy finish to get a three-wicket victory over co-hosts West Indies in Antigua, maintaining their perfect run at the tournament with seven wins from seven so far.
South Africa have never made it past the semi-final stage of the T20 World Cup, with this due to be their third such appearance.
This time around, they have been on the right side of tight wins, and Walter is keen to ease any pressure from past results that could hinder the team.
"The near misses in the past, they belong to the people who missed them," Walter said. "To be honest, this team is a different team.
"We own whatever is ours to own. And so, our nearest reflection point is this tournament where we've managed to get over the line. So that's what we think about.
"I think there's always an energy that you can feel that's tangible when it comes to a semi-final.
"There'll be a mixture of emotions which is with anxiety, but excitement and I think anyone in any sport, if they get to this phase of a competition, feels that. And so really, it's just acknowledging that and accepting it and then just understanding what you'll do with that.
"We still want to play our best cricket in the key moments of the game."
Moeen Ali acknowledged England will "have to be at our best" to beat India when they lock horns in the T20 World Cup semi-finals on Thursday.
The reigning champions have recovered from a slow start to their total defence to reach their fourth successive semi-final in the competition.
England have subsequently set up a rematch of their showdown with India at this stage of the 2022 competition, when Jos Buttler and Alex Hales inspired England to a 10-wicket victory with four overs to spare.
Two years later, they face an India side full of momentum having won all six of their completed matches, while eliminating 50-over world champions Australia with a 24-run win on Monday.
And Moeen knows England cannot afford to be off the pace in Guyana if they are to replicate their 2022 exploits.
"They looked very, very strong, like they did in the last World Cup," he said. "They're just a brilliant side. They've got everything covered, so we're going to have to be at our best to beat them. I'm looking forward to it.
"It's a great challenge, similar to the last time we played them in the semi-final in Australia. It's going to be a challenge, and we're going to have to plan and play really well."
Remembering that 2022 semi-final, Moeen added: "We were unbelievable with the bat. We set the game up on that wicket with the ball. Even when they got away from us a little bit at the end, it was a bit late. That was a great day, and a great performance."
Liam Livingstone is hopeful England are coming good at the perfect time ahead of their T20 World Cup semi-final against India, having grown into the tournament after a slow start.
The defending champions almost succumbed to a humiliating group-stage exit, with only old rivals Australia keeping them in with a dramatic victory over Scotland.
Having finished second in Group B, Jos Buttler's team did likewise in Group 2 at the Super-8 stage, a resounding victory over the United States sending them through at West Indies' expense.
England now have a chance to reach their fourth T20 World Cup final and their third in the last four editions, while a third triumph at the tournament would take them clear of the Windies for the outright record.
All-rounder Livingstone says England have a chance to prove tournaments are not about how you start, but how you finish.
"In tournament cricket, sometimes it is better to sneak up and nick it at the end," said Livingstone. "Hopefully that is the way we will go.
"A lot of lads have been contributing in the last few games which should stand us in good stead going forward. We've hopefully got two more massive games."
Livingstone sustained a torso injury while batting against Namibia in the group stage but has shrugged that problem off to play all of England's matches.
He has yet to truly hit top form, taking two wickets and scoring 13 and 33 in his two innings with the bat in the middle order, but he is confident a big finish is coming.
"As a kid I always wanted to be involved, that's the reason I started bowling a few years back," he said.
"So batting at seven and maybe bowling one over, that's where the hard bit comes as you want to be involved.
"Thankfully the last two games I struck the ball well against South Africa and bowled pretty well [against the USA], so I feel I'm in a good place."
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan hopes the team's "dream" run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals will serve as inspiration to young people across the country.
Afghanistan will face South Africa in their first World Cup semi-final on Wednesday after edging out Australia to escape the Super 8s with an eight-run win over Bangladesh.
This is Afghanistan's seventh participation at the T20 World Cup, with the first three all ending in the group stage before they reached the Super 10s in 2016 and the Super 12s in 2021 and 2022.
Speaking after finishing with figures of 4-23 in Monday's dramatic, rain-affected win over Bangladesh, Rashid said: "I think the semi-final is going to be a massive, massive inspiration for the youngsters back home in Afghanistan.
"We have done it at under-19 level, but at this level we haven't done that. Even the Super 8s was the first time for us. It's an unbelievable feeling.
"It's like a dream for us. It's all about the way we had started the tournament. The belief came when we beat New Zealand [in the second group match].
"I don't have any words to describe my feelings. Definitely back home everyone is so, so happy about this."
While Afghanistan will go into the semi-finals as underdogs, Rashid sees no reason why they cannot go even further.
"We are capable, as long we keep things very simple, and I think in the whole competition so far we kept things simple," he said.
"There were some tough times but we didn't let ourselves down and we always tried to come back stronger."
Afghanistan reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time and eliminated Australia from the tournament with a dramatic eight-run win over Bangladesh.
Afghanistan entered the final game of the Super 8s requiring a victory to join England, India and South Africa in the last four, while Bangladesh themselves could still qualify via net run-rate with a handsome win.
Both Bangladesh and Australia might have been positive regarding their prospects when Afghanistan reached just 115 in their innings.
Even Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 43 came off 55 balls as they made slow progress, before the opener handed Soumya Sarkar a simple catch off a 17th-over delivery from Rishad Hossain, who impressed with figures of 3-26.
It was the Bangladesh innings that brought the drama, though.
Repeated rain stoppages meant they were left chasing a series of revised targets, and the losses of Najmul Hossain Shanto (5) and Shakib Al Hasan on back-to-back third-over balls, the latter for a golden duck, made their chances of qualification unlikely.
However, they could still send Australia through with any victory, and opener Litton Das did his best to do so, making an unbeaten 54 as wickets tumbled around him.
With Bangladesh nine runs from victory but with just one wicket remaining in the 18th over, it was Naveen-ul-Haq who sealed Afghanistan's place in the last four.
He joined captain Rashid Khan on four dismissals by trapping Mustafizur Rahman lbw, ensuring Afghanistan will face South Africa in a historic semi-final in Trinidad on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Farooqi earns a slice of history
While Afghanistan captain Khan (4-23) and Naveen (4-26) hogged the headlines on a historic day for the team, team-mate Fazalhaq Farooqi also had an outing to remember. He trapped Tanzid Hasan lbw for the first wicket of the Bangladesh innings, his 16th wicket at this year's tournament.
That drew him level with Sri Lanka's PW Hasaranga (in 2022) for the most wickets in a single edition of the T20 World Cup, and he will look to take the record outright against South Africa later this week.
India booked their place in the T20 World Cup semi-finals with an impressive 24-run victory over Australia on Monday.
Rohit Sharma was the star, hitting an excellent 92 off 41 balls to set India on their way to the win, with defeat leaving Australia in a precarious position.
Virat Kohli was out for a duck after being caught off Josh Hazlewood early on (2-14), but Sharma took control, getting his half-century off just 19 balls.
He was eventually bowled out by Mitchell Starc (2-45), but the damage was already done, as Suryakumar Yadav (31), Shivam Dube (28) and Hardik Pandya (27no) helped India to 205-5.
Australia started their innings strongly though, as Travis Head hit 76, but he was caught by Sharma after Axal Patel pulled off an incredible one-handed catch to dismiss Mitchell Marsh for 37.
The chase stalled somewhat after that, with Arshdeep Singh getting two late wickets to finish on 3-37, limiting Australia to just 181-7.
India will face England in the semi-finals, but defeat for Australia means they will be out of the tournament if Afghanistan beat Bangladesh. They could also miss out on net run rate if the result is flipped and Bangladesh get a big enough victory.
Data Debrief: Sharma on top
Sharma's knock of 92 included seven fours and eight sixes, and it means that he leapfrogs to the top of the charts.
He is now the top scorer for India in T20Is with 4165 runs, going past Virat Kohli's 4103, and is also the top-scorer in T20Is overall, moving above Babar Azam's tally of 4145.
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