India 2023: The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup

18th October 2023 - ICC Men's World Cup - NZ v Afghanistan - 9.30am - Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - Afghanistan won toss and chose to field first.

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Three days ago, Afghanistan sparked this tournament into life, beating world champions England by 69 runs in Delhi.

Today they face New Zealand, defeated finalists in 2019..Could another shock be in the offing ?

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Afghanistan captain Rahmanullah Gurbaz: "We want to bowl first. It might be the dew factor in the second innings, there might be spin in the first.
"We looked at the opposition's strengths and decided we have to bowl first and try to restrict them to a low score.
"We had a celebration for the night after England. Now it's gone, that confidence we can take forward, we will try our best."

19th October 2023 - ICC Men's World Cup - India v Bangladesh - At Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune - Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bat.

Bangladesh - 256-8 (50 overs) Das 66, Tanzid Hasan 51, Mahmudullah 46, Mushfiqur 38, Jadeja 2-38, Bumrah 2-41

India - 261-3 (41.3 overs) Gill 53, Rohit 48, Rahul 34 not out, Kohli 103 not out, Mehidy 2-47

India win by 7 wickets

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Virat Kohli scored his 48th one-day international hundred as India powered to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh.

Set 257, India knocked off the runs with 8.3 overs to spare as Kohli moved to within one of Sachin Tendulkar's record 49 ODI centuries.

Rohit Sharma got the chase off to a flyer and Shubman Gill scored 53 before Kohli took over and hit a six to win the game and bring up his hundred.

A fourth straight win means India remain joint-top of the group table.

After electing to bat first, Bangladesh, without injured captain Shakib Al Hasan, battled through a challenging first few overs against the new ball before openers Tanzid Hasan and Liton Das accelerated to put pressure on the India attack.

The stand reached 93 before Tanzid fell to the spin of Kuldeep Yadav the over after reaching his half-century.

India seized on the opening, slowed the scoring rate and took another two wickets before Das holed out for 66 to leave Bangladesh 137-4.

Useful contributions from Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah ensured the innings didn't completely unravel but the momentum had been lost and Bangladesh fell well short of a total that could really challenge India.

That was brought into focus inside an over of the India reply as Rohit plundered two boundaries, and he continued in the same vain before falling two runs shy of his fifty.

Gill took his time to get set before joining the boundary barrage and Kohli was given two free-hits from the first three he faced to help get him into his stride quickly.

Such a blistering start removed any real jeopardy and after Gill was caught in the deep in the 20th over, India took a more considered, risk-free approach and calmly chipped away at the runs required.

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Kohli kept the sell-out crowd happy with some occasional sizzling strokeplay but it was KL Rahul who started the kick for home, pulling Shoriful Islam for six then four.

With Kohli within reach of his century, Rahul held off as India closed in and singles were even turned down to ensure that the former skipper had the chance to get to three figures.

And he did so in some style, clubbing a full toss from Nasum Ahmed over the leg side for six to seal the win.


Player of the match, India's Virat Kohli: "I wanted to make a big contribution. I've had a few fifties in World Cups and haven't converted them so I just wanted to finish the game off this time around and hang around to the end, which is what I've done over the years for the team.
"It's a special feeling playing at home in front of all these people and we just want to make the most of it."

India captain Rohit Sharma: "It was a good win. We did not start well but we pulled it back well in the middle stages and at the back end as well. The last three games we have played, our fielding has been superb. We continued that today. It is something that is in your control. You try and put in as much effort as you can. Bowlers were smart enough to understand what sort of lines and lengths were needed.
"All of us in the squad have gone through such pressure - crowds coming in big numbers. It is special for us. The crowd has not disappointed us and I am pretty sure it is going to get bigger and louder moving forward."

20th October 2023 - ICC Men's World Cup - Australia v Pakistan - At M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore - Pakistan won the toss and decided to field.

Australia - 367-9 (50 overs) Warner 163, Marsh 121, Extras 25, Stoinis 21, Shaheen 5-54, Rauf 3-83

Pakistan 305 all out (45.3 overs) Imam 70, Shafique 64, Rizwan 46, Zampa 4-53, Stoinis 2-40

Australia win by 62 runs

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Cricket World Cup 2023: David Warner hits 163 as Australia beat Pakistan..By Timothy Abraham, BBC Sport.

Warner shared a stand of 259 for the first wicket with Mitchell Marsh, who made 121, before Pakistan fought back.

Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi took 5-54 to help limit the Aussies to 367-9.

Imam-ul-Haq (70) and Abdullah Shafique (64) gave Pakistan a start but when Mohammad Rizwan departed for 46 to Adam Zampa, Australia closed out the game.

Pakistan had already chased a World Cup record total of 345 against Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament, but fell short of repeating the feat here.

In a World Cup in which there has been a dearth of close encounters, this match at least threatened to go to the wire before Pakistan's batting crumpled.

An opening stand of 134 from Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq provided a platform, only for both men to fall to the medium pace of Marcus Stoinis (2-40).

Australia skipper Pat Cummins redeemed himself for an earlier drop with a fine catch to get rid of counterpart Babar Azam (18) before Rizwan's dismissal, trapped plumb in front to the impressive Zampa, effectively signalled the end of the match as a contest.

Warner and Marsh had earlier batted with the kind of zest hitherto absent from Australia's performances in the tournament thus far.

There were a couple of blemishes on Warner's knock as was dropped twice on 10 and 105, but he and Marsh made hay in favourable batting conditions.

Australia's victory lifted them above England and up to fourth in the table, level on points with Pakistan but ahead of them on net run-rate.


Player of the match, Australia's David Warner: "It was awesome.
"We thought the threat was going to be the first five or six overs with the new ball then once we got the pace of the wicket, we were going to target the next guys that came on.
"For us to go out there and put in a performance and a score on the board like that is very pleasing."
More from David Warner on what pleased him about his innings: "Just committing and backing my skills. I felt like I was ticking along and was just one bit of luck away. It helps when you're hitting the ball out of the middle. Playing on a ground like this, you've got to take those chances.
"It was just good to get out there and get a partnership with Mitch today. We spoke about wanting to bat together until 35 over at least then at the back end, we could score heavily.
"There is a bit of tinkering that we need to work on after losing wickets at the end."
On his groin injury: "It's a little bit sore but it's just cramps at the moment."

Saturday 21st October 2023 - ICC Men's World Cup - ENGLAND v South Africa - Venue: w**khede Stadium, Mumbai - England won the toss and decided to field.

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Ben Stokes is back

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England win the toss and bowl

THE TEAMS
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England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (captain/wicketkeeper), Harry Brook, David Willey, Gus Aktinson, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram (captain), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngid.

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England captain Jos Buttler: "We'll bowl first as generally it is a good ground for chasing. We are very forward facing and it's about looking forward to this game now and look to impose ourselves on South Africa. It's going to be a fantastic game.
"The changes in the team are a little bit of health and a little bit ground dependent. We need to be true to ourselves and commit to our brand of cricket.
"Everyone's had a few days off and keen to get going."

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South Africa stand-in captain Aiden Markram: "Tembs has pulled up ill, he's tried to pull through. We will miss him today. It is very unfortunate how it has happened but it is a big opportunity for Reeza (Hendricks) today."
"We are happy batting first, it looks like a good wicket and it is generally a good batting wicket."
The Netherlands defeat: "It motivates you quite a bit, we weren't at our standards and that is how we measure ourselves. If we reach those standards, it will give every opportunity."

OK, Everyone is ready to start...

Abysmal is being polite,, if I had paid entrance money to watch that from an English point of view,I would report it to the Police as I would feel like I had been robbed,!!

Saturday 21st October 2023 - ICC Men's World Fixtures 2023 - Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow - Netherlands to bat first.

Netherlands - 262 all out (49.4 overs) Engelbrecht 70, Van Beek 59, Extras 33, D Madushanka 4-48, Rajitha 4-50

Sri Lanka - 263-5 (48.2 overs) Samarawickrama 91 not out, Nissanka 54, Asalanka 44, Dutt 3-44

Sri Lanka win by 5 wickets

Cricket World Cup 2023: Sri Lanka beat Netherlands for first win..By Stephan Shemilt, Chief cricket writer.

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Sadeera Samarawickrama hit an unbeaten 91

Sri Lanka avoided becoming victims of another Netherlands upset to record their first victory of the 2023 World Cup in Lucknow.

The Dutch, who shocked South Africa on Tuesday, recovered from 91-6 to post 262 all out thanks to 70 from Sybrand Engelbrecht and 59 by Logan van Beek.

Sri Lanka were 52-2 and then 104-3 when Pathum Nissanka fell for 54, only to be steadied by Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka.

Asalanka was bowled for 44 by Aryan Dutt - a third wicket for the off-spinner - with 83 still required, but Samarawickrama remained to manage the chase and end 91 not out.

Despite some curiously slow progress as they neared their target, Sri Lanka completed the win with five wickets and 10 deliveries in hand.

Sri Lanka are the last of the 10 teams in the tournament to register their first win. They join the Dutch on two points, two points outside the top four in the group table.

Sri Lanka move on to meet England in Bangalore on Thursday, reuniting head coach Chris Silverwood with the side he led between 2019 and 2022.

The Netherlands take on five-time champions Australia in Delhi on Wednesday.

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ICC Men's World Fixtures 2023 - The next 5 fixtures are:

Monday 23rd October 2023

Pakistan v Afghanistan - 9.30am - Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai


Tuesday 24th October 2023

South Africa v Bangladesh - 9.30am - Venue: w**khede Stadium, Mumbai

Monday 23rd October 2023 - ICC Men's World Fixtures 2023 - At MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat.

Pakistan - 282-7 (50 overs) Babar 74, Shafique 58, Shadab 40, Iftikhar 40, Noor 3-49, Naveen 2-52

Afghanistan - 286-2 (49 overs) Gurbaz 65, I Zadran 87, Rahmat 77 not out, Hashmatullah 48 not out, Hassan 1-44

Afghanistan win by 8 wickets

Cricket World Cup 2023: Afghanistan seal historic win over Pakistan in Chennai thriller..By Tom Mallows, BBC Sport.
Afghanistan beat Pakistan for the first time in one-day cricket by pulling off their highest successful chase in the format in a World Cup thriller.
Ibrahim Zadran made 87, Rahmanullah Gurbaz smacked 65 and Rahmat Shah struck an unbeaten 77 as Afghanistan reached their target of 283 with 8 wickets & six balls to spare.
Afghanistan are up to sixth, leaving holders England bottom of the table.
Captain Babar Azam earlier made 74 as Pakistan posted 282-7 in Chennai.
Teenage spinner Noor Ahmad was the pick of the Afghanistan bowlers, taking 3-49.
It is Afghanistan's first win over Pakistan in ODIs at the eighth attempt, with their total of 286-2 seeing them eclipse their previous record successful chase of 276-8 when set 274 to beat United Arab Emirates in 2014.
It is also only Afghanistan's third World Cup win, after victories over Scotland in 2015 and England earlier in this tournament.

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Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi: "This win tastes nice. The way we chased was very professional and the way we did that will help us going into our other games now.
"We are playing quality cricket. We have always had belief and at the start of the tournament I told my team I wanted to make it a historic one for our country and our people. We did that against England and now against Pakistan.
"Our bowling was very good, especially our spinners. We gave Noor a chance and trusted his talent. With the bat, the way we started the innings gave us a lot of confidence and momentum."


Pakistan captain Babar Azam: "That really hurt us. We got a good total. Our bowling is not up to the mark.
"In World Cups you need all three departments firing and we haven't done that. Afghanistan played very well but we gave them a lot of runs and it cost us.
"We were backing ourselves to win, but they played well in all three departments and we didn't. We have got to put that right in our next match."


Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott, speaking to BBC Sport: "Ecstatic is an understatement. We've got some time off now and can let the emotion of it sink in.
"This backs up the victory against England. These boys can play. It's just about putting it together and being consistent."