New Zealand cruise to win after Sri Lanka's late collapse

New Zealand Women 111 for 3 (Bates 37) beat Sri Lanka Women 110 for 8 (Manodara 37) by seven wicketsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Suzie Bates helped New Zealand take control of the 111-run chase early on © IDI/Getty Images New Zealand Women began their World T20 campaign with an easy seven-wicket win after a late collapse restricted Sri Lanka Women to 110 for 8 in Delhi. Sri Lanka won the…

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England World T20 preview: West Indies

There have been five different winners of the five World Twenty20 tournaments to date and two champions from this decade lock horns in a mouthwatering opening group one clash. England captain Eoin Morgan was at the other end when Paul Collingwood hit the winning runs to defeat Australia in the 2010 final in Barbados and leads a young, fearless side against the host nation from six years ago, Darren Sammy’s…

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Graham Ford pleased with Sri Lanka's 'progress'

Graham Ford on pitches in India: “It might be different from venue to venue and bowlers will have to be a bit smart.” © AFP Sri Lanka had suffered series losses in New Zealand and India before being knocked out of the Asia Cup. They showed glimpses of improved form, however, during their World Twenty20 warm-up games against Pakistan and New Zealand, despite losing both. Lahiru Thirimanne, a late change…

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Mashrafe hoping for strong Kolkata support

Mashrafe Mortaza has backed Mushfiqur Rahim to overcome his recent lack of runs © AFP If there is one venue in the world that could be home from home for Bangladesh, it is the ground they will begin their Super 10s on Wednesday. Kolkatans speak with a different inflection, and a recent trade embargo means Bangladeshi hilsa no longer makes it into this city’s eateries, but still, Bangladesh is elementally…

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NZ bat, leave out Boult and Southee

Toss New Zealand chose to bat v IndiaLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details Play 03:09 Styris: India are favourites for a reason New Zealand went for a horses-for-courses approach upon seeing a dry and cracked pitch in Nagpur, and their conviction was such that they left out their two best fast bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee to accommodate three spinners. The visitors made a far more orthodox call when the…

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India's record 163 too much for Bangladesh

India Women 163 for 5 (Raj 42, Harmanpreet 40) beat Bangladesh Women 91 for 5 (Sultana 27*, Patil 2-16, Poonam 2-17) by 72 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Mithali Raj top-scored for India with 42 off 35 balls © ICC/Getty Images India Women had played more T20Is in the last three months than Bangladesh Women had managed to play across formats since their World T20 debut in 2014. The end result…

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The battle of reputation versus potential

Match facts Wednesday, March 16, 2016Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT) Play 02:56 ‘There’s a good feel around the team’ – Morgan Big picture Two of the three most recent winners of the World T20 go head to head in a tantalising showdown at the Wankhede, and picking a winner is rather like guessing which side of bed either team plans on getting up. The fact that no side has…

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'We can surprise people' – Waqar Younis

File photo: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis expects Shahid Afridi and the team to turn their woeful form around © AFP Having been received warmly in Kolkata by security personnel and queues of escort vehicles, Pakistan had quickly strode to a warm-up win against Sri Lanka. In that match, the top order made good contributions, and the bowling was both miserly and menacing. Before they landed in India, though, Pakistan had…

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World T20: Shahid Afridi Defends 'Loved in India' Comment, Says It's a 'Positive Message'

Shahid Afridi was criticised by Javed Miandad for saying Pakistan players were loved more in India than their own country. © AFP Kolkata: Shahid Afridi, under attack in Pakistan for stating that cricketers from his country are loved more in India, on Tuesday sought to douse the fire by saying that he did not intend to demean his nation and was merely trying to give a ‘positive message’ by showing…

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World T20: Pakistan Take on Bangladesh in a Tricky Clash

Pakistan would hope to shrug off their Asia Cup disappointment, with a good show in World T20. © AFP Kolkata: Pakistan’s arrival itself for World T20 was mired in drama. They would look to bring the focus back on their game when they take on an enigmatic Bangladesh in what promises to be an engrossing World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 2 encounter here on Wednesday. (World T20: Waqar Younis Says…

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