Cricket World Cup 2023 Archives - Lokmarg

India Wins Toss; Shubman Gill Returns

By LokMarg 14th October 2023

India won the toss and opted to field in the marquee World Cup match against Pakistan here on Saturday.

India began their World Cup campaign with a victory over Australia and then a win against Afghanistan. Pakistan also has two victories in two matches so far.

Shubman Gill has returned to the Indian side replacing Ishan Kishan while Pakistan will play with the side that won against Sri Lanka.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said at the toss that dew was a factor in the decision to bowl first.

“We will bowl first, cannot get bigger than this, fantastic atmosphere. Sure lot of us are going to experience something really extraordinary. It’s a good track, not going to change much. Dew could be a big factor and keeping that in mind, we want to bowl first. We want to keep striving for the best, we want to come out there and give our best in every game. Keeping the atmosphere in the team relaxed is the most important thing in a tournament like this. Gill is back in place of Ishan, unfortunate for Ishan to miss out, feel for him, he stepped up when we needed him.”

Pakistan captain Babar Azam also said they wanted to bowl first.

“We also wanted to bowl first. We have had good two wins and momentum and confidence are high. Jam-packed stadium, we will enjoy it. We want to be good in the field, we had a couple of good practice sessions. Same team for us.”

India playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Pakistan (Playing XI): Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf (ANI)

Gambhir Offers Prayers At Tirupati For Team India’s World Cup Performance

By LokMarg 28th September 2023

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir on Thursday offered prayers at Lord Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirumala and expressed hope that with the prayers of the 140 crore Indians, Men in Blue will emerge as the victorious team in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup.

Gambhir reached Tirumala in the wee hours of Thursday with his family and temple authorities offered him “srivari prasadam.”

The former opener said India stands a decent chance of taking home the trophy at the 2023 Cricket World Cup. He also believes that with the prayers of 140 crore Indians, Men in Blue would win the World Cup.

“All of us wish India the very best. I am sure with 140 crore Indians praying for the team, they will definitely do a very good job and India has a very good chance of winning the World Cup,” Gambhir told media after his visit to

The 41-year-old is currently the mentor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

India will begin their ODI World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8 at Chennai. The 15-member squad will be led by Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya acting as his deputy.

The eagerly-awaited contest between India and Pakistan will be held in Ahmedabad on October 14.

Meanwhile, the World Cup will commence on October 5 when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the event culminating in the final at the same venue on November 19. (ANI)

Sehwag Picks Rohit As Leading Run-Getter In WC 2023

By LokMarg 26th August 2023

Former India opener Virender Sehwag predicted that current Team India skipper Rohit Sharma will finish ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 as the leading run-getter.

India will meet Australia to begin their Cricket World Cup campaign in Chennai on October 8.

Sehwag highlighted that openers will have many opportunities to shine during the next ODI World Cup because of the batting-friendly circumstances in India.

In a video posted to the ICC’s Instagram account, Sehwag was asked to guess who would score the most runs at the 2023 World Cup. He selected Rohit and said, “India has got good wickets, so I think openers will get good opportunities. If I want to pick one, I think Rohit Sharma. There are a couple of names, but I am Indian and I should pick an Indian, so Rohit Sharma.”

Sehwag praised the Indian opener and stated that the World Cup frequently brought out his best.

“When the World Cup comes, his energy level, his performance goes up. So, I am sure [he will do well]. And this time, he’s the captain also. I am sure that he will make a difference and will score lots of runs,” Sehwag added.

The 2019 ODI World Cup was played in England, and Rohit scored the most runs overall. In nine games, he scored 648 runs at an average of 81, including up to five hundreds.

In 244 ODI appearances overall, the 36-year-old has scored 9837 runs at an average of 48.69, with 30 hundred and 48 half-centuries.

This year, Rohit has played well in all game formats. Rohit has appeared in 16 games across all formats of the game this year, scoring 923 runs at an average of 48.57. (ANI)

ICC Revise ODI WC: India Set To Face Pakistan On 14th October

By LokMarg 9th August 2023

The much-awaited encounter between India and Pakistan in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 has been rescheduled to a different day, along with this eight other matches of the tournament have also been changed.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) released a statement to announce the revised schedule for the upcoming World Cup in India on Wednesday.

The clash between India and Pakistan was originally slated to take place in Ahmedabad on Sunday, October 15, but this clash has been moved a day earlier and will now be held at the same venue on Saturday, October 14.

As a result, England’s fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi will be moved from Saturday, October 14 and will now be played 24 hours later on Sunday, October 15.

Pakistan’s contest against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad has moved from Thursday, 12 October to now being played on Tuesday, 10 October and Australia’s big match against South Africa in Lucknow moved back 24 hours and will now be played on Thursday, October 12 instead of Friday, October 13.

Similarly, New Zealand’s game against Bangladesh originally scheduled as a day match for October 14 in Chennai has been moved back and will now be held on Friday, October 13 and be played as a day-night contest.

From the initial phase of the tournament, a minor change to the fixture refers to the timing of England’s match-up against Bangladesh in Dharamsala, with the clash becoming a day match and a 10:30AM (local time) start after it was originally scheduled as a day-night fixture.

Towards the end of the league stage, there are three changes with the double-header encounters of Sunday, 12 November being moved a day earlier to Saturday, 11 November – Australia vs Pakistan in Pune (10:30AM) and England vs Pakistan in Kolkata (02:00PM).

Meanwhile, India’s last league game against the Netherlands has now been shifted from 11 to 12 November, a day-night clash to be played in Bengaluru.

The World Cup commences on Thursday, 5 October when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the event culminating in the final at the same venue on Sunday, 19 November. (ANI)