ODI World Cup digest: India stay undefeated; Afghanistan, Pakistan in must-win territory

The Males’s 2023 ODI World Cup is underway in India and runs from October 5 till November 19. Every morning we’ll spherical up the most recent motion and information from the occasion and produce you the insights from our reporters on the bottom.

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Fixtures | Squads | Factors desk | Match Index

High Story: Shami and Kohli put unbeaten India prime of the desk

India 274 for six (Kohli 95, Rohit 46, Jadeja 39*, Ferguson 2-63) beat New Zealand 273 (Mitchell 130, Ravindra 75, Shami 5-54, Kuldeep 2-73) by 4 wickets

They had been with out their most irreplaceable participant in a top-of-the-table conflict in opposition to a New Zealand aspect that is had the wooden over them in current global-tournament conferences, and this New Zealand aspect put them beneath extreme stress on a number of events. However ultimately, India continued to typify the 2023 World Cup equal of Gary Lineker’s well-known quote on a superteam from a distinct sport: “Soccer is a straightforward sport. Twenty-two males chase a ball for 90 minutes and ultimately, the Germans all the time win.”

We’re nonetheless solely midway by the league stage, and knockouts are knockouts, however India have appeared so onerous to beat that even this sport, their most intense tussle but on this match, ended with Virat Kohli making an attempt to repeat what he did in opposition to Bangladesh on Thursday, and refuse singles with India in sight of victory with the intention to try to attain his hundred.

Click on right here for the complete report

Match evaluation: Shami shreds safety-first script to current India with one other method

Mohammed Shami‘s numbers on the 50-overs World Cup make for spectacular studying: 12 matches, 36 wickets at a mean of 15.02 and an financial system of 5.09. They’re the sort of big-tournament numbers groups yearn for. Groups go to any lengths to wrap such performers in cotton wool for concern of damage.

There’s little doubt that Shami is one among India’s major quick bowlers. However to this point on the 2023 World Cup, he hadn’t fairly been the one. Till Sunday, after all, in Dharamsala, when he left an indelible mark in opposition to New Zealand: immaculate management up entrance bookended by death-overs mastery. Not even a chic Virat Kohli innings could not fairly shade Shami’s second World Cup five-for beneath the Himalayan mist.

Learn the complete evaluation from Shashank Kishore in Dharamsala

Should Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara on the important thing to Daryl Mitchell’s success

Information headlines

• Travis Head is optimistic he may return to play in opposition to Netherlands on Wednesday however Australia might err on the aspect of warning along with his hand damage given he’s nonetheless but to have a full batting session in opposition to bowlers after solely just lately arriving in India.
• England will attempt to establish “an X-factor participant” as a alternative for Reece Topley, who has been formally dominated out of the remainder of the World Cup after scans confirmed a fracture in his left index finger.

Match preview

Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Chennai (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEDT

It is now roughly midway by the World Cup, and the desk is starting to take form. Afghanistan and Pakistan, the 2 sides that take one another on in Chennai, are nowhere close to the pinnacle of it, and it is already starting to strategy must-win territory for every of those sides. Defeat for Afghanistan would virtually definitely knock them out, whereas a Pakistan loss leaves Babar Azam’s aspect with no additional room for error.

Afghanistan will really feel like there’s been little to separate the 2 sides on far too many events, however they’re but to rejoice an ODI win in opposition to their fiercest regional rivals. They had been famously denied in a heartbreaker on the 2019 World Cup after being offered with a golden alternative to knock Pakistan out, and victory on Monday would have a near-similar impact. There have been sufficient encouraging indicators to recommend this might be an evenly poised sport, although Afghanistan have peppered patches of brilliance with prolonged spells of mediocrity with each bat and ball.

Full preview

Staff information

Afghanistan (attainable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz 2 Ibrahim Zadran 3 Rahmat Shah 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt) 5 Azmatullah Omarzai 6 Ikram Alikhil (wk) 7 Mohammad Nabi 8 Rashid Khan 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman 10 Naveen-ul-Haq 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Pakistan (attainable): 1 Abdullah Shafique 2 Imam-ul-Haq 3 Babar Azam (capt) 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Mohammad Nawaz/Shadab Khan 7 Iftikhar Ahmed 8 Usama Mir 8 9 Hasan Ali 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 11 Haris Rauf

Characteristic: The worth of being Babar Azam

The ball wasn’t as quick as you may keep in mind it. It wasn’t as a lot a half-tracker gimme. It was fuller – a superb size really – and really straight, with some zip off the floor. Additionally, it was Adam Zampa; so a bit of respect to the deliverer’s intent and talent please.

However nonetheless. Right here was a second, a capital M second within the sport that was arrange for Babar Azam. Pakistan had been 175 for two, 193 to get from slightly below 24 overs, on a small floor, a real floor, a lightning outfield and an assault with restricted spin choices. There isn’t any cakewalking to a chase of 369 in a World Cup sport in opposition to Australia ever, nevertheless it’s truthful to say that final Friday on the Chinnaswamy, with this line-up, was most likely Pakistan’s greatest alternative for it.

Learn the complete characteristic from Osman Samiuddin