World T20: India vs Pak match shifted to Kolkata over security concerns

ICC shifts India vs Pakistan World T20 fixture from Dharamshala to Kolkata citing security concerns.
[PHOTO: Indi Samarajiva/Flickr/CC BY 2.0] 

New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the World Twenty20 2016 Super 10 Group 2 match between India and Pakistan has been relocated from Dharamsala to Kolkata.

The evening match will take place as scheduled on Saturday 19 March and will start at 19h30 local time.

Announcing the decision, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said, “The decision has been taken following consultation with the BCCI, the relevant state associations, the ICC and BCCI security consultant and other relevant authorities."

He asserted, “The decision to relocate the match has been made for security reasons. The concerns initially arose following alleged public comments recently reported by the Chief Minister of Hamachal Pradesh, warning of demonstrations and attempts to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the match. Our concerns relate both to uncertainty as to the level of those threats as well as the level of commitment to implement any security plan developed to mitigate such threats. The decision was not taken lightly. The ICC and the BCCI understand the disappointment that is likely to be felt by many over the decision to move the match. But the safety and security of the event is of paramount importance to the ICC and we have taken into consideration the concerns shared with us by our security advisors as well as the Pakistan Cricket Board."

“As far as those who have purchased tickets online for the match, they will be offered the choice of a full refund or the opportunity to exchange their tickets for ones for the Kolkata match," he added.

“Finally, I would like to confirm that the ICC has been assured by all relevant state authorities that all adequate security measures are in place and will be implemented to ensure that the event is staged in a safe and secure environment for all stakeholders,” Richardson concluded.

India Vs Pak: Kohli fined for showing dissent at umpire

ICC fines ace Indian batsman Virat Kohli for breaching code of conduct. 
[PHOTO: Naparazzi/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0]

Mirpur, Bangladesh: Virat Kohli has been fined 30 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during India's Asia Cup T20 match against Pakistan in Mirpur on Saturday.

As per the ICC media release, the player was found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match."

The incident happened in the 15th over of India’s innings when Kohli, after being given out leg before, displayed dissent by first showing his bat and then leaving the crease while looking back at the umpire and uttering some words that were contrary to the spirit of the game.

"On Sunday, Kohli admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Jeff Crowe of the elite panel of ICC match referees. As such, there was no need for a formal hearing," the release further said.

The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Ruchira Palliyaguruge and Sharfuddoula, third umpire Enamul Haque and fourth official Anisur Rahman. 

For all first offences, Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee.

World T20 match timings, warm-up sched announced

ICC announces World T20 India 2016 match timings and warm-up schedule. 
[PHOTO: Special Arrangements/ICC] 

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the match timings and warm-up schedule of the World T20 2016, which would be staged at eight venues in India from 8 March to 3 April.

The men’s afternoon matches will take place from 15h00-18h10, while the evening matches will be played from 19h30-22h40. The semi-finals and the final will be held from 19h00-22h10.

The women’s afternoon matches will be played from 15h30-18h15, while the evening matches will take place from 19h30-22h15. The semi-finals and the finals, which will be played before the men’s matches, will be played between 14h30-17h15.

Meanwhile, the ICC has also announced the schedule of the warm-up matches.

Teams taking part in the first round will play their warm-up matches in Dharamsala and Mohali from 3-6 March, while sides featuring in the second round will play warm-up matches in Kolkata and Mumbai from 10-15 March.

The women’s warm-up matches will take place in Bengaluru and Chennai from 10-14 March.

Warm-up match schedule (men’s)

3 Mar – Zimbabwe v local side, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (15h00); Ireland v Hong Kong*, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (19h30)

4 Mar – Netherlands v local side, Sector-16, Mohali (15h00); Scotland v Oman*, IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali (19h30)

5 Mar – Ireland v Zimbabwe, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (15h00); Bangladesh v Hong Kong*, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (19h30)

6 Mar – Scotland v Netherlands, Sector-16, Mohali (15h00); Oman v Afghanistan*, IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali (19h30)

10 Mar – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (19h30); India v West Indies, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (19h30)

12 Mar – New Zealand v England, BKC, Mumbai (15h00); Pakistan v local side, JU, Kolkata (15h00); India v South Africa, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (19h30)

13 Mar – Australia v West Indies, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (19h30)

14 Mar – England v local side, BKC, Mumbai (15h00); Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (15h00)

15 Mar – South Africa v local side, BKC, Mumbai (15h00)

*If Afghanistan, Hong Kong or Oman reach the second round of the Asia Cup, then their warm-up matches will be rescheduled accordingly.

Warm-up match schedule (women’s)

10 Mar – India v Ireland, M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru (15h00); Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru (19h30); New Zealand v Pakistan, MA Chidambaram, Chennai (19h30)

12 Mar – Bangladesh v Ireland, M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru (15h00); Sri Lanka v India, M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru (19h30); New Zealand v England, Guru Nanak, Chennai (15h00); Pakistan v South Africa, MA Chidambaram, Chennai (19h30)

14 Mar – West Indies v Australia, Guru Nanak, Chennai (15h00); South Africa v England, MA Chidambaram, Chennai (19h30)

T20 top spot on line as India take on Sri Lanka

[PHOTO: Tourism Victoria/Flickr/CC BY 2.0] 

Dubai: World T20 2016 host India and defending champion Sri Lanka go head to head in a three-match series from Tuesday with the number-one ranking on the championship table up for grabs.

India, which vaulted seven places to first after sweeping aside Australia last week, needs to win the series against Sri Lanka to retain the coveted position. In contrast, Sri Lanka will also aim to win the series, which will help it leapfrog India and the West Indies into the top spot.

With the ICC World Twenty20 2016 starting in less than four weeks, this series is extremely crucial for both sides. India and Sri Lanka will not only aim to find the winning combination and momentum, but also target entering the tournament as the number-one ranked side, which will serve as an additional confidence-booster.

Following this series, India and Sri Lanka will feature in the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh before launching their ICC World Twenty20 campaigns on 15 and 17 March respectively. Sri Lanka will defend the title it won in Bangladesh in 2014 in the tournament to be staged from 8 March to 3 April, while India will try to repeat its ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 glory when it lifted the most prestigious trophy in the sport in front of its fans in Mumbai.

The following are the series permutations:

• If India wins 3-0 – India (1st) 127; Sri Lanka (7th) 112
• If India wins 2-1 – India (1st) 122; Sri Lanka (4th) 116
• If Sri Lanka wins 2-1 – India (3rd) 117; Sri Lanka (1st) 121
• If Sri Lanka wins 3-0 – India (7th) 112; Sri Lanka (1st) 125

Meanwhile, India has rested number-one ranked T20I batsman Virat Kohli, which means his team-mate Suresh Raina will start as the highest-ranked batsman in 13th position. Other batsmen featuring inside the top 20 include Tillakaratne Dilshan (14th), Rohit Sharma (17th) and Yuvraj Singh (20th).

India captain MS Dhoni is 38th, 108 points behind Yuvraj, while Shikhar Dhawan is 87th and Ajinkya Rahane 89th.

Among bowlers, India’s Ravichandran Ashwin will start in second place, 81 points behind number-one ranked Sunil Narine of the West Indies, while Lasith Malinga is sixth, Nuwan Kulasekara is 10th and Ravindra Jadeja is 18th.

Bowlers outside the top 20 include Bhuvneshwar Kumar (38th), Harbhajan Singh (56th), Thisara Perera (59th) and Dilshan (104th).

In the all-rounders’ list, Yuvraj will enter the series in seventh position, 15 points behind fifth-ranked Mathews, who has been rested. Australia’s Shane Watson is ranked number one, 89 points ahead of Yuvraj.

Bangladesh stun South Africa in U-19 World Cup opener

Bangladesh U-19 team celebrating South Africa captain Tony De Zorzi's wicket during the opening match of Under-19 Cricket World Cup at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, Bangladesh. 
[PHOTO: ©ICC/Special Arrangements] 

Chittagong, Bangladesh: Host Bangladesh gave the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 a momentous start with a 43-run victory over defending champion South Africa in Wednesday’s opening Group A match.

In a Group C fixture at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong, Dan Lawrence and Jack Burnham hit centuries as title contender England brushed aside Fiji by 299 runs.

Bangladesh, which elected to bat on a slow pitch at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, lost wickets just when the batsmen appeared to have settled down and was restricted to 240 for seven in its 50 overs.

Nazmul Hossain hit 73 off 82 balls to boost the total after useful contributions from Pinak Ghosh (43) and Joyraz Sheik (46).

The target proved too tough for South Africa, which was bowled out for 197 in the penultimate over despite a defiant 100 from opener Liam Smith.

Smith batted till the 45th over before being the seventh batsman out, caught superbly in the covers by Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan.

Mehidy, leading his nation in the second successive ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup, picked up three for 37 with his off-spin. Seamer Mohammad Saifuddin took three for 30.

It was Bangladesh’s first win over South Africa in the ICC U-19 World Cup following four previous defeats, but Wednesday’s victory was its 12th in 15 matches against the same opponents over the past two years.

With Scotland and Namibia the other sides in the group home team’s victory makes it the favourite to secure top place from Group A and avoid a possible quarter-final clash against Rahul Dravid-coached India.

Nazmul Hossain, who was named man of the match, said the slow wicket made their total a challenging target.

'The ball was not coming on to the bat, so we thought it was a good total,' said Nazmul. 'I just wanted to bat as long as possible and hold one end up. But I was still a bit disappointed that we could not get another 20-odd runs.'

Nazmul insisted his team will not relax after beating South Africa.

'We can’t afford to relax or lose focus,' he said. 'We have just put one game away but we must concentrate on the next match and then the next. In a tournament like this there is no room for comfort.'

South African captain Tony de Zorzi said Smith’s century was a great positive to come out from what was a disappointing defeat for his side.

'I think Smith played superbly,' said de Zorzi. '240 was certainly not a bad total to be chasing but we did not have wickets in hand. We lost the game in the second half. Hopefully we will do better in the next match.'

In their next matches in Cox’s Bazar on Sunday, Bangladesh will take on Scotland while South Africa will face Namibia.

Meanwhile, England piled up 371 for three in its 50 overs against Fiji, with Essex’s Lawrence smashing 174 off 150 balls with 25 boundaries and a six, and Burnham of Durham making 148 off 137 balls with 19 fours and four sixes.

The pair put on 303 for the second wicket after opener Max Holden had been dismissed in the third over.

England, whose squad includes nine players with experience of senior county cricket back home, bowled Fiji out for 72 in only 27.3 overs. 

Peni Vuniwaqa was the lone batsman to offer any resistance with 36 as four batsmen failed to score and five others did not reach double figures.

Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood grabbed three wickets for two runs in his five overs and his new-ball partner Sam Curran of Surrey took three for 22.

England next plays the West Indies on Friday and Fiji takes on Zimbabwe the same day.

The 11th edition of the biennial 16-nation tournament features nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members – Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland.

Teams have been divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super League quarter-finals and the other two qualifying for the Plate championships.