Asia Cup 2022 Archives - Lokmarg

Bumrah Unlikely To Play In ICC T20 World Cup 2022

By LokMarg 29th September 2022

India’s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting October 16.

Bumrah is believed to be ruled out of the competition with a back injury. As per BCCI sources to ANI, the right-arm quick is out of action because of the complaint of back pain.
“Jasprit Bumrah complained of back pain during India’s practice session on Tuesday. The BCCI Medical Team assessed him. He is ruled out of the first #INDvSA T20I,” BCCI tweeted earlier on Wednesday.

Bumrah had not traveled with the team for the opening T20I against South Africa, played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

Bumrah, who had also been ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 due to his back problem, and was training at the National Cricket Academy, played the last two T20Is against Australia. (ANI)

High Commission Condemns Leicester Violence

By LokMarg 19th September 2022

The High Commission of India in London on Monday condemned the violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and has sought immediate action against those involved in the attacks.

The High Commission issued a statement on Monday saying that it has taken up the matter with the UK authorities.
“We strongly condemn the violence perpetrated against the Indian Community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of Hindu religion. We have strongly taken up this matter with the UK authorities and have sought immediate action against those involved in these attacks. We call on the authorities to provide protection to the affected people,” the statement read.

The cycle of violence was triggered on August 28 after India won the Asia Cup T20 match against Pakistan. On Sunday, a clash broke out among groups of young men in Leicestershire, according to the police statement. At least 15 people have been arrested so far in the matter.

This comes after various videos and reports have been circulating on social media about Pakistani organised gangs seen vandalising and terrorising Hindus in the UK’s Leicester City. The incident follows a spate of violence and disorder in the eastern part of the city.

The violence first started on August 28 after India won the match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022, following which a fight broke out in Melton Road, Belgrave, leading to 27 arrests so far, according to a UK-based media publication Leicester Mercury.

Following the incident, the Leicestershire Police assured to continue to call for dialogue and calm with support from local community leaders.

The police while calling for calm told everyone to return home and asked to share the information that has been checked and is true.

After the reports of the clash on Saturday night, the Leicestershire Police Temporary Chief Constable Rob Nixon, in a video message shared on the Twitter handle, said, “We have had numerous reports of a disorder on the streets of Leicester tonight, Saturday, September 17. We have got officers there, we are taking control of the situation, there are additional officers en route and dispersal powers, stop search powers, have been authorised. Please do not get involved. We are calling for calm.” (ANI)

Asia Cup: Kohli Hits Highest Score By An Indian In T20I

By LokMarg 8th September 2022

Virat Kohli on Thursday scored the highest individual score by an Indian player in T20 international cricket.

The star Indian batter accomplished this landmark during the Super Four clash against Afghanistan at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

Virat finally completed his much-anticipated 71st century. He smashed an unbeaten 122 in just 61 balls with 12 balls and six sixes.

He has overtaken the score of 118 posted by Rohit Sharma against Sri Lanka in 2017. It is followed by 117 by Suryakumar Yadav against England in 2022, Rohit Sharma’s 111 not out against West Indies in 2018 and an unbeaten 110 by KL Rahul against West Indies in 2016.

Coming to the match, Star Indian batter Virat Kohli completed his much-anticipated 71st international century and powered India to a massive 212/2 in their 20 overs during their last Super Four clash against Afghanistan at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 on Thursday.

Put to bat first by Afghanistan, openers KL Rahul and Virat Kohli got Team India off to a great start. The running between the wickets by the duo was good as usual. Openers really started to open their arms in the third over, with Virat smashing pacers Fazalhaq Farooqi for two fours.

From that point on, KL and Virat feasted on Afghan bowlers. Virat Kohli looked in really good touch and hit spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman for two fours and a six in the sixth over. At the end of six overs and the powerplay, India stood at 52/0, with Virat (25) and Rahul (26) unbeaten.

Virat and KL continued their domination over Afghanistan, even after the powerplay. The duo kept the scoreboard running at a good speed. At the end of 10 overs, India stood at 87/0, with Rahul (42) and Virat (44).

Virat brought up his 33rd half-century in the format with a single. KL Rahul helped the team cross 100-run mark with a four in 11.2 overs and scored another four on the next ball to bring up his fifty.

Medium-pacer Fareed Malik ended the 119-run stand between the duo in the 13th over, dismissing Rahul for 62 off 41 balls after the batter was caught by Najibullah Zadran at long-on.

Suryakumar Yadav was next and he started his innings with a six on the very first ball, but Fareed got his wicket on the very next ball.

Rishabh Pant was up on the crease. He continued to tick the scoreboard with Virat and took India into the final five without further damage. At the end of 15 overs, India was at 134/2, with Pant (6) and Virat (59).

Pant and Virat continued their assault on Afghanistan bowlers. Virat was the aggressor and mercilessly hit boundaries.

With two overs to go, Pant-Virat brought up their 50-run stand. Virat also entered into the 90s. Finally, he completed his much-anticipated 71st international century and his first in T20Is.

India finished its innings at 212/2, with Virat Kohli (122) and Rishabh Pant (20). Fareed Malik took 2/57 for Afghanistan. Virat finally completed his much-anticipated 71st century. He smashed an unbeaten 122 in just 61 balls with 12 balls and six sixes. (ANI)

Asia Cup: Pakistan Beat Afghanistan In A Nail-biting Match

By LokMarg 7th September 2022

Team India is out of contention for final as Naseem Shah’s two back-to-back sixes in the first two balls off the final over undid brilliant bowling by Afghanistan throughout the innings, securing a one-wicket win for Pakistan in a thrilling Super Four clash at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 on Wednesday.

Afghanistan has been shown the exit door but they would be extremely happy with brilliant bowling from Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/31) and Fareed Ahmad Malik (3/31) despite posting just 129/6 on the board. They almost took their side towards a win but Naseem’s two sixes in the last over sealed a win for Pakistan.

Iftikhar Ahmed (30) and Shadab Khan (36) posted valuable contributions for Pakistan. A final between Sri Lanka and Pakistan is set.

Chasing 130, Pakistan was off to a poor start as they lost their skipper Babar Azam for a golden duck. Azam’s horrific run in the tournament continued and he became the first skipper in Asia Cup history to have a golden duck registered to his name.

Another wicket fell soon for Pakistan as left-hander Fakhar Zaman was run out by Najibullah Zadran for 5, reducing Pakistan to 18/2.

After this Mohammed Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed rebuild the innings for Pakistan and kept the scoreboard moving with their good running between the wickets. At the end of six overs, Pakistan was at 35/2, with Iftikhar Ahmed (13) and Mohammad Rizwan (15).

Rashid Khan gave Afghanistan their third wicket of the match and his first, trapping Rizwan lbw for 20 off 26 balls. Pakistan was left reeling at 45/3.

Ifthikhar Ahmed carried on while Shadab Khan joined him on the crease. At the end of 10 overs, Pakistan was at 52/3, with Shadab (6) and Iftikhar (19).

Shadab and Iftikhar continued to bat, playing some sensible cricket and sending bad balls out of the fence. They brought Pakistan back into the contest.

At the end of 15 overs, Pakistan was at 85/3, with both batters at 29* each.

A 42-run stand developed between two, which ended after Iftikhar was dismissed for 30 off 32 balls. Fareed Ahmad got the wicket after Ibrahim Zadran caught him at deep-midwicket. Pakistan was now at 87/4 in 15.3 overs.

All-rounder Mohammad Nawaz was the next on the crease. Heading into the final four overs, Pakistan needed 39 runs.

Shadab started the next over bowled by Rashid with a huge six, only to be dismissed by him on the very next ball for 36 runs off 26 balls after he was caught by Azmatullah. Half of the Pakistan team was back in the hut at 97 runs.

Asif Ali was the next batter to join Nawaz and he started his innings with a six. Pakistan needed 25 off the final three overs at this point.

Afghanistan continued their brilliant fight back in the match, with Fazalhaq Farooqi trapping Nawaz leg before wicket for four off five balls. Pakistan was at 105/6. Farooqi continued to build pressure on Pakistan with his superb bowling, cleaning up new batter Khusdil Shah’s stumps in the final ball of the over. At the end of 18 overs, Pakistan needed 21 in the final two overs.

Haris Rauf was up next for Pakistan. But he was clean bowled by Fareed Ahmad for a duck, who got his second wicket in the match.

Naseem Shah was next to join Asif, who was running out of partners at the other end. Fareed Ahmad got his third wicket of the match after he dismissed the dangerman, Asif Ali for 16 off 8 balls after he was caught by Karim Janat.

Mohammad Hasnain was the last man to turn up for Pakistan on the crease, with his side needing 11 in the final over.

Naseem Shah started the next over with a huge six, reducing the deficit to five runs needed off five balls. He also hit the next ball, a full toss for a six, securing a one-wicket win for his country.

Farooqi was Afghanistan’s leading bowler with 3/25. Fareed Ahmad Malik also took a brilliant 3/31. Rashid Khan also took two wickets.

Earlier, brilliant bowling by the Pakistan unit restricted Afghanistan to a subpar 129/6 in their 20 overs in their Super Four clash at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 in Sharjah on Wednesday.

Pakistan had a nice outing with the ball as they did not let any big partnerships develop. Afghanistan would not be happy at all with the show put on by their batters except Ibrahim Zadran (35) to an extent as none of them capitalised on the good starts they got.

Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with 2/26.

Put to bat first by Pakistan, Afghanistan openers Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz put their team to a solid start. Both batters adopted an attacking approach suited for the powerplay. Gurbaz hit pacer Mohammad Hasnain for two consecutive sixes in the second over.

Pacer Haris Rauf gave Pakistan their first breakthrough. He dismissed the danger-man Gurbaz for 17 off 11 balls. Gurbaz attempted to slog the ball, but his off-stump was dislodged before he could.

Ibrahim Zadran was next up on the crease. Soon, Hazratullah Zazai was dismissed by Hasnain for 21 off 17 balls. He had struck four solid boundaries and looked really good, but Hasnain removed his leg-stump. Afghanistan lost their second wicket at 43-runs before powerplay.

Karim Janat was next up on the crease. At the end of the power-play in six overs, Afghanistan was at 48/2, with Zadran (5) and Janat (2). Two early wickets had lowered Afghanistan’s run flow and the challenge was to complete the first half of their innings with a solid score.

Janat and Zadran helped their side do just that as they kept the scoreboard running with some singles and boundaries. At the end of 10 overs, Afghanistan was at 72/2 in 10 overs, with Janat (15) and Zadran (16).

A promising stand ended prematurely at 35 runs when Janat tried to hit big over long-on but was caught by Fakhar Zaman. Janat was back in the hut for 15 off 19 balls and spinner Mohammad Nawaz got his first wicket. Afghanistan was 78/3 at this point.

Najibullah Zadran was next up, joining the other Zadran. Najibullah tried to dominate spinner Shadab Khan in the 14th over with a six, but the bowler got the best of him as the batter had to walk back for 10 off 11 balls after Fakhar took another catch.

Skipper Mohammad Nabi was also dismissed at the very next ball. Pacer Naseem Shah got his first wicket of the match. The ball touched the inside edge of his bat and went straight into his stumps. Half of Afghanistan was back in the pavilion by 91/5.

At the end of 15 overs, Afghanistan stood at 93/5, with Zadran (26) and Omarzai (1).

Azmatullah Omarzai joined Ibrahim on the crease. A six by Ibrahim helped Afghanistan cross the 100-run mark in 15.3 overs.

Zadran looked highly important for Afghanistan’s chances heading into death overs, but he was dismissed for 35 off 37 balls by Rauf after he was caught behind by Mohammad Rizwan.

Rashid Khan was next up to the crease. Pakistan continued to build pressure on Afghanistan batters and did not give them much opportunities to score runs. Rashid Khan did reduce some pressure with a four and six in the final over, but still, Afghanistan ended with a subpar score of 129/6 in their 20 overs. Rashid Khan played a solid cameo of 18* off 15 balls and Azmatullah Omarzai ended with 10*.

Pacer Haris Rauf was the leading bowler for Pakistan with a spell of 2/26 in four overs. Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan also took one wicket each for Pakistan. (ANI)

Let’s Keep Sports Free From Personal Attacks: Sachin Backs Arshdeep

By LokMarg 6th September 2022

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had words of support and encouragement for young pacer Arshdeep Singh who is under fire for dropping a crucial catch against Pakistan in the Super Four clash at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

The 23-year-old Indian pacer is under pressure for dropping an important catch in the 18th over of Pakistan’s innings against India in the Super Four phase clash while the former were chasing 182 runs. Singh had dropped Asif Ali, who took full advantage of the lifeline given to him as Pakistan hit pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 19 runs in the next over. Arshdeep Singh was given the final over to defend seven runs but was unsuccessful.
Arshdeep became the target of vicious online trolling after he dropped the crucial catch. The word “India” was replaced with “Khalistan” on Singh’s Wikipedia page by an anonymous user even as another editor shortly undid these changes. Reportedly, some handles from Pakistan also became active.

“Every athlete representing the country gives their best and plays for the nation always. They need our constant support & remember, that in sports you win some & you lose some. Let’s keep cricket or any other sport free from personal attacks. @arshdeepsinghh keep working hard…. and give the best reply by performing on the field. I am keenly following you. My best wishes,” said Tendulkar in two tweets.

Notably, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has taken note of the edited Wikipedia page linking cricketer Arshdeep Singh to Khalistan and MeitY is expected to initiate action on Wikipedia, said sources.

The Ministry of Electronics and Technology on Monday said that “no intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation” after cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s Wikipedia page was edited by an unregistered user, linking him to the separatist Khalistani movement.

“No intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation and deliberate efforts to incitement and user harm – violates our govt’s expectation of Safe & Trusted Internet,” tweeted Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS Electronics and Technology.

Pictures were shared on social media, stating that “he was named in Khalistan squad for the 2018 under-19 World Cup.” The edit history of Arshdeep’s Wikipedia page revealed that the user who made those changes was unregistered and was using the internet protocol (IP) address 39.41.171.125.

The user also edited his name to “Major Arshdeep Singh Langra” and a minute later, to “Major Arshdeep Singh Bajwa”. Many random changes were done to Singh’s game statistics.

The address allocation records showed that the particular address was allocated to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).

Indian cricket fraternity has also come out in support of the young pacer who had dropped a crucial catch in the 18th over of the match.

Indian batter Virat Kohli had some strong words in his support and said “Even when I played my first game against Pakistan in Champions Trophy, I played a bad shot and got out. Anyone can make mistakes under pressure. It is natural to feel bad. The team environment is great right now, credit for this goes to management and the captain. So one must accept his mistake, address it and look forward to being in that pressure situation once again,” said Kohli in a post-match press conference on Sunday.

He was backed by the former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who stated that no one drops catches purposely and the young seamer should not be criticized.

“Stop criticising young @arshdeepsinghh. No one drops a catch purposely..we are proud of our boys .. Pakistan played better.. shame on such people who r putting our own guys down by saying cheap things on this platform bout Arsh and the team.. Arsh is GOLD,” Harbhajan tweeted.

Coming to the match, put to bat first by Pakistan, India put on 181/7 in their 20 overs. Chasing 182, Pakistan crossed the finishing line with one ball to spare and by a margin of five wickets. (ANI)

Asia Cup 2022: Virat Has Highest 50 Plus Scores In T20I

By LokMarg 4th September 2022

Virat Kohli now has the most fifty-plus scores in the history of T20I cricket.

The star Indian batter accomplished this feat during his side’s high-octane Super Four clash against Pakistan on Sunday.
Kohli struck a delightful 60 runs off 44 balls. His knock was decorated with four boundaries and a six. This was his 32nd half-century in T20Is. But he was run out on the fourth ball of the final over.

Compatriot Rohit Sharma has been knocked down to second number after this superb innings by Virat, as he has 31 fifty-plus scores, including four centuries.

He is followed by Babar Azam of Pakistan (27 fifty plus scores including a century), Veteran Australian opener David Warner (23), New Zealand’s Martin Guptill (22) and Ireland opener Paul Stirling (21).

Now in 102 matches, Kohli has scored 3,462 runs at an average of 50.91. He has scored 32 half-centuries in the format, with 94* being his best score. His strike rate in this format is 137.10.

Coming to the match, Pakistan opted to field first after winning the toss.

Virat Kohli’s blistering 60 and 54-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul guided India to 181/7 against arch rivals Pakistan in the second match of the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Virat Kohli was in his best form as he smashed 60 runs in 44 deliveries, while Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul scored 28 runs each setting a solid foundation for the Indian team. For Pakistan Shadab Khan bagged two wickets while Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah scalped one wicket each. (ANI)