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Former Pakistan Skipper Shahid Afridi Announced As Tournament Ambassador For ICC T20 World Cup 2024

admin — Fri, 24 May 2024 11:09:04 +0000

Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi has been announced as a tournament ambassador for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 which will be held in the West Indies and the USA, ICC said in a release on Friday. With this announcement, Afridi joins an illustrious group of ambassadors, featuring India stalwart Yuvraj Singh, ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle and the fastest man on earth Usain Bolt. Afridi is synonymous with Pakistan’s most memorable moments in T20 World Cup history. He played a pivotal role in their journey to the final in the inaugural tournament in 2007 and their triumph in the 2009 edition.

Afridi came in clutch for Pakistan in both those years – he was Player of the Tournament in the 2007 edition where they fell on the final hurdle to arch-rivals India. However, they were quick to put that loss behind them and got their hands on the trophy in the next edition, where Afridi was the Player of the Match in both the semi-final against South Africa and the finale for an all-round performance against Sri Lanka.

The former Pakistan captain cherished his memories of the T20 World Cup and expressed his elation at joining the upcoming edition as a tournament ambassador.

“The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is an event that is very close to my heart. From being Player of the Tournament in the inaugural edition to lifting the trophy in 2009, some of my favourite career highlights have come from competing on this stage,” said Afridi as quoted by ICC.

“T20 World Cups have gone from strength to strength in recent years, and I’m thrilled to be part of this edition, where we will see more teams, more matches and even more drama than ever before. I am particularly excited to witness the India v Pakistan fixture on 9 June. It is one of the great rivalries in sport and New York will be a fitting stage for this unmissable encounter between two great teams,” the former Pakistan skipper added.

The ICC General Manager also expressed his feelings on the appointment of Afridi. “Shahid competed in six ICC Men’s T20 World Cups, two of which as captain and delivering a Player of the Match performance when winning the trophy in 2009, so who better to join our all-star Ambassador team,” Claire Furlong said.

“He’s a fan favourite around the world and alongside Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle and eight-time Olympic gold-medallist Usain Bolt, will be bringing fans closer to the event ahead of what is set to be the biggest T20 World Cup ever,” Furlong added.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup kicks off on 1 June with co-hosts USA taking on Canada at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.

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In Epic Video, Virat Kohli Brags About ‘Maximum Sixes’ This Year, Chris Gayle Asks…

admin — Wed, 22 May 2024 05:34:13 +0000

Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle in RCB dressing room© X (Twitter)

There aren’t many cricketers in the world who can brag about hitting sixes in front of the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle. The former West Indies batter still holds the record of hitting the most number of sixes in T20 cricket. But, as Gayle entered the RCB dressing room, after the team’s victory against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) it the final league match of the season, he met his old teammate Virat Kohli. The RCB opener, who has played a pivotal role in the team’s playoffs progression, didn’t hesitate in bragging about his ‘maximum sixes’ feat in front of Gayle.

“Maximum sixes this season, yeah!,” Kohli said as he met Gayle in a video shared by RCB on social media. “How much?” Gayle asked.

“37!” replied Kohli, who now holds the record of hitting the most number of sixes this season, including four against CSK in the last match. With the help of his knock against Chennai, Virat has also gone past the 700-run mark this season.

Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli in the RCB dressing room together – nostalgia max!

Virat jokingly asks Chris to come back to the #IPL – what do you think about it, 12th Man Army? #PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/Bj9HVFfVka

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 20, 2024

Later in the video, Kohli also joked with Gayle about the Impact Player rule, saying it would enable to big-hitting West Indian to make a comeback next year as he wouldn’t be required to field anymore.

“Kaka, come back next year. Impact Player rule is on now. You don’t have to field anymore. It’s designed for you,” Kohli jokingly told Gayle.

Kohlialso autographed his RCB jersey and presented it to Gayle with a sweet little message that read: “To Chris (kaka). With love and best wishes.”

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Not Just Virat Kohli: Another RCB Legend Met MS Dhoni After Handshake Fiasco

admin — Mon, 20 May 2024 12:27:12 +0000

Chennai Super Kings star MS Dhoni with RCB’s Virat Kohli© X (formerly Twitter)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru qualified for the IPL 2024 playoffs with a sensational win over Chennai Super Kings but the match was not without its fair share of controversies. Faf Du Plessis scored a brilliant half-century while Cameron Green provided the late fireworks as RCB posted a total above 200. In response, CSK were unable to get going and young fast bowler Yash Dayal produced an impressive spell of bowling against the likes of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja to clinch the match. However, it is the scenes after the match that led to a major fiasco involving the RCB cricketers and Dhoni.

Celebrations erupted just after the final ball of the match and RCB players were seen congratulating each other as the crowd celebrated the win. Dhoni came out with the CSK team to shake hands with the cricketers but as they continued their celebrations, the veteran star left for the dressing room.

On his way to the dressing room, Dhoni shook hands with the RCB support staff and various experts and fans have criticised the RCB players for not coming to shake hands with their CSK counterparts first.

Virat Kohli followed MS Dhoni to the CSK dressing room after the match and it looks like he was not only one. Legendary West Indies and RCB batter Chris Gayle also visited the CSK dressing room after the match where he met his former teammate Dwayne Bravo and even posed for pictures with Dhoni.

The loss was extremely disappointing for CSK as they crashed out of the tournament. With 14 points from 14 matches, the five-time champions were slightly inconsistent but they went into their final league match as the favourites to qualify. However, a heavy loss against RCB end their playoff hopes completely.

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Chris Gayle Enters RCB’s Dressing Room, Recreates Iconic Celebration With Virat Kohli

admin — Sun, 19 May 2024 16:29:04 +0000

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru player Chris Gayle joined his old teammate Virat Kohli in the franchise’s dressing room at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Saturday. Gayle who once opened the innings alongside Virat Kohli for RCB, was elated to see his former side securing a heroic victory against Chennai Super Kings to qualify for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs. After entering the dressing room, Gayle recreated his old celebration with Kohli before giving the RCB stalwart a big hug.

Gayle witnessed RCB make history at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium following their 27-run win against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.

Against all odds, they sealed their spot in the final berth of the IPL playoffs. The Challengers became the first team to qualify for the playoffs after having just one win in their first seven games of the season.

Virat & Gayle Celebration

pic.twitter.com/gxOiBI6LXi

— V I P E R (@VIPERoffl) May 19, 2024

Chris Gayle’s Instagram post.

– ‘Long live, the King. Nothing but respect and love’. pic.twitter.com/gVg180CL1U

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 19, 2024

During the game, the RCB Hall of Fame opened up about his love for the franchise. He even joked about coming in as an impact substitute if the team needs a player.

“As you can see jersey still fits so if they need an extra man, I can be the impact player. It is good to see the fans. RCB forever, I will forever be an RCB fan,” Gayle said in a video posted by RCB on X.

Universe Boss Chris Gayle was in the house last night, ready to step in as Impact Sub!

‘RCB Forever’ – he says reminiscing his playing days and supporting the Men In Red Blue and Gold! #PlayBold #RCB #ChrisGayle #RCBvCSK pic.twitter.com/RougFPSZEx

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 19, 2024

The RCB fans have witnessed Gayle break and rescript records at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. In this stadium, Gayle smashed 175* off just 66 deliveries against Pune Warriors in the IPL 2013.

After more than 10 years, Gayle’s blitz stands tall as the highest score in the T20 format. His record-breaking knock was laced with 13 boundaries and 17 towering sixes.

He still has the record for the most maximums in an inning by a batter in the history of the cash-rich league. Gayle opened up about his love for playing in Chinnaswamy and the electrifying atmosphere that is created by the fans.

“It is always good to be back where you have fun memories. It is good to see the guys in a very important game. For me, it is very special to be right here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. One thing I noticed the roof, brand new, I know I have done some damage. I hope someone can put a dent in there and make it entertaining like the Universe Boss,” Gayle said.

“I got goosebumps. This is the best place to play cricket, the atmosphere is brilliant and the fans played a big part during my career with RCB,” Gayle added.

Coming to the match, with 218/5 on board, RCB managed to restrict CSK before they could reach 201 to better their net run rate. RCB stood victorious with a 27-run win and sealed their spot in the final four.

With ANI inputs

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Cricket World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma On Verge Of Achieving Historic First In ODI Cricket

admin — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 05:56:23 +0000

Rohit Sharma is on the verge of adding a massive record to his already illustrious career as the Indian cricket team skipper can become the first batter from his country to hit 50 sixes in a calendar year. Right now, Rohit has 47 sixes and if he can hit 3 more sixes in the course of the Cricket World Cup 2023, he will be able to achieve the historic first. Overall, West Indies legend Chris Gayle and former South Africa star AB De Villiers are the only cricketers to achieve this feat. De Villiers tops the list with 58 sixes back in 2015 – a record that Rohit can potentially break considering the number of games left.

Meanwhile, Australian legend Ricky Ponting believes a “laid-back” Rohit Sharma is the ideal captain to lead India to their third ODI World Cup title, the second on home soil after the 2011 triumph.

With three convincing wins under their belt, India have made a perfect start to their World Cup campaign. India defeated Australia by six wickets in their tournament opener, before registering emphatic eight and seven-wicket wins over Afghanistan and Pakistan to sit on top of the points table.

“He’s very laid back, Rohit. Very laid back with everything he does. You can even see that by the way that he plays. He’s a pretty laconic sort of batsman as well, and that’s the way he is both on and off the field,” Ponting told the ICC website.

Rohit took the captaincy reins from Virat Kohli in both the white-ball formats in December 2021.

“But I think Rohit will be fine with it. He’s a terrific bloke and has been a great player for a long time, and he’s done a great job as leader of India.” The Men In Blue last won the World Cup when the tournament was jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2011.

(With PTI inputs)

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India vs Pakistan Cricket World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma Becomes First Indian Batter In ODI History To Achieve Mammoth Feat

admin — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 13:49:42 +0000

Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma added another major milestone to his already illustrious career as he became the first India batter ever to slam 300 sixes in ODI cricket. Rohit looked in tremendous touch during the Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday and he was able to reach the milestone with his fourth six of the innings. Overall, he joined West Indies legend Chris Gayle and former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi as the batters with more than 300 ODI sixes. For India, MS Dhoni is second with 229 sixes.

(Today match score IND vs PAK live | ICC WC points table | World Cup schedule)

Batters with 300+ sixes in ODIs

351 Shahid Afridi

331 Chris Gayle

300 Rohit Sharma*

Earlier, India bowled out Pakistan for just 191 in their high-profile World Cup clash on Saturday after their bitter rivals lost their last eight wickets for just 36 runs.

Captain Babar Azam top scored with 50 while Mohammad Rizwan made 49.

Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each as Pakistan collapsed from 155-2 to get bowled out in 42.5 overs.

Pakistan started strongly but lost their openers before Azam and Rizwan attempted to rebuild and hit back in their stand of 82.

Azam reached his fifty off 57 balls with a boundary but fell in the next over, bowled by Siraj as the crowd roared to see the back of the world’s number one ODI batsman.

Kuldeep Yadav soon struck twice in an over to send back the left-handed Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed, bowled around the legs for four after the ball deflected off the batsman’s gloves.

Bumrah denied Rizwan his fifty with a slower-off cutter that rattled the stumps as Pakistan slipped to 168-6.

Bumrah, playing in front of his home crowd, had a spring in his step and struck again in the next over to get Shadab Khan out for two.

Pandya and Jadeja combined to wrap up the tail.

“It has been a good World Cup so far, 100%,” said Yadav at the innings break.

“I knew where to bowl but the pitch was a little slower. They weren’t doing much so I was just varying my pace and using my variations.”

(With AFP inputs)

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Cricket World Cup – “Taken A Leaf Out Of Gayle”: Rohit Sharma On Breaking West Indies Great’s Feat Of Most 6s

admin — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:49:34 +0000

After surpassing Chris Gayle’s record of most sixes in international cricket on Wednesday, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said he has taken some inspiration from the ‘Universe Boss’ himself in his journey. During his record-breaking 81-ball 131 against Afghanistan at the Ferozshah Kotla, Rohit hammered five sixes to reach 556 maximums across three formats, three more than the West Indian left-hander. Rohit reached the landmark in 453 matches, precisely 30 games less than Gayle.

“Universe Boss is Universe Boss. I have taken a leaf out of his book. Over the years, we have seen him, such a six-hitting machine he is wherever he plays.

“We wear the same jersey (No. 45). I am sure he is happy about it because jersey No. 45 has done it (breaking his record),” said Rohit in a video posted by the BCCI.

Rohit said a lot of work has gone into developing his six-hitting skills over the years.

“When I started playing this game, I never thought I would be able to hit sixes, leave alone that many sixes. Obviously, a lot of work has been put into it over the years. So, I am quite happy with the work that I have done.

“I am the sort of person who is not satisfied (with what he has been doing), and I want to continue what I am doing. My focus is on that. Yeah, it is a small happy moment for me,” said the right-handed opener.

The 36-year-old patted his bowlers for restricting Afghanistan to a below-par total on a surface which suited batsmen.

“For us, the focus is on those small things which is to look into the opposition that we play. Today was Afghanistan, and to play well here… we understood the conditions and played well.

“I thought we played a brilliant game. The bowlers did an exceptional job to restrict Afghanistan to below 280 because the wicket was really good to bat on,” said Rohit.

The skipper urged the team to focus on the job at hand rather than thinking about the knockout stages.

“It is a very different format that we play now, the World Cup — 9 league games and then the semifinals and final. For us what was important was to look at every game that came our way and not to look too far ahead,” he added.

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Cricket World Cup 2023: Rampaging Rohit Sharma Makes History, Surpasses West Indies Legend To Achieve World Record

admin — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:58:57 +0000

Rohit Sharma in action during India-Afghanistan match in Cricket World Cup 2023© AFP

Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma surpassed West Indies legend Chris Gayle to became the batter with the most number of sixes in international cricket across all formats during the Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and Afghanistan in New Delhi on Wednesday. Rohit slammed three massive sixes to take his tally to 554 and in the process, went past the mammoth tally of Gayle (553) in Tests, ODIs and T20Is combined. Former India captain MS Dhoni is the only other Indian cricketer in the Top-10 list as he has slammed 359 sixes in his career while representing India and Asia XI.

Rohit looked in tremendous form as he slammed a brilliant half-century in just 30 deliveries.

Most sixes in international cricket

554* – Rohit Sharma

553 – Chris Gayle

476 – Shahid Afridi

398 – Brendon McCullum

383 – Martin Guptill

Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai hit half-centuries as Afghanistan reached 272-8 against hosts India in their Cricket World Cup 2023 clash.

Afghanistan elected to bat first at New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium which witnessed a World Cup record 754 runs scored in the previous match when South Africa posted 428 and defeated Sri Lanka.

The ground was a sea blue with nearly all of the 40,000 seats taken, many in anticipation of a big contribution by superstar cricketer and Delhi-born Virat Kohli.

But at the end of the Afghanistan innings it was pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah who stood out for the home side with his best World Cup bowling figures of 4-39. Afghanistan slipped to 63-3 before Shahidi (80) and Omarzai (62) put on 121 runs to help Afghanistan recover.

(With AFP inputs)

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