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  • ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 – Who is Your Favourite?

    ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 – Who is Your Favourite?

    The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is the biggest event in the cricketing calendar, and it will be held in India from October 8 to November 19. Ten teams will compete for the coveted trophy, which was last won by England in 2019. India, the hosts, and the two-time champions are widely regarded as the favorites for the title, as they have a formidable batting lineup, a balanced bowling attack, and a home advantage.

    However, who will win? Is your pick (or picks!) the undisputed favorites, or are there other contenders who can challenge them? In this blog post, we will analyze how each team fares and who is your favorite to win the title.

    India: The Hosts and The Favourites

    India is undoubtedly one of the strongest favorites of the betting app providers to win the World Cup, as they have a formidable batting lineup, a balanced bowling attack, and home advantage. Led by Rohit Sharma, India boasts of players like Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah, who can dominate any opposition on their day. India has also been consistent in ICC tournaments, reaching the semi-finals or finals in six of the last seven editions. India has won the World Cup twice, in 1983 and 2011, and will be aiming to repeat the feat on home soil.

    India’s experience and leadership are also key factors that make them a formidable team. They have players who have played in many international matches and tournaments. They also have players who have won the World Cup before, like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. They have a calm and composed captain Rohit Sharma, who leads by example and motivates his teammates.

    Australia: The Five-Time Champions

    Australia is another team that cannot be taken lightly, as they have a history of winning the World Cup five times, more than any other team. Australia has a powerful batting lineup, featuring players like David Warner, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marnus Labuschagne, and Mitchell Marsh. Their bowling unit is also formidable, with players like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, and Josh Hazlewood. Australia has also been in good form recently, winning the ODI series against India and South Africa earlier this year. Australia will be looking to bounce back from their semi-final exit in 2019 and reclaim their glory in 2023.

    Pakistan: The Unpredictable Team

    Pakistan is a team that can surprise anyone with its unpredictable performances. Pakistan has a talented squad, with players like Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Hasan Ali. Pakistan also has a reputation for performing well in ICC tournaments, as they won the Champions Trophy in 2017 and reached the final of the World T20 in 2009 and 2007. Pakistan has also won the World Cup once, in 1992, under the inspirational leadership of Imran Khan. Pakistan will be hoping to emulate their success in 1992 and end their long wait for another World Cup title.

    Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are likely to open the innings, followed by Mohammad Rizwan at number three. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez can bat at number four and five respectively, while Imad Wasim and Faheem Ashraf can provide the finishing touches at number six and seven. Sarfaraz Ahmed can also be included as a wicket-keeper batsman who can bat anywhere in the order.

    England: The Defending Champions

    England is the defending champion of the World Cup, having won their maiden title in 2019 in a thrilling final against New Zealand. England has a dynamic batting lineup, with players like Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, and Moeen Ali. Their bowling unit is also impressive, with players like Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, and Sam Curran. England has also been consistent in ODI cricket in recent years, winning a series against India, Australia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. England will be aiming to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Australia in 2003 and 2007.

    New Zealand: The Dark Horse

    New Zealand is a team that has always punched above its weight in ICC tournaments. New Zealand has a balanced squad, with players like Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Devon Conway, Ross Taylor, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, and Tim Southee. New Zealand has also been in excellent form recently, winning the inaugural World Test Championship against India and reaching the final of the T20 World Cup in 2021. New Zealand has also reached the final of the last two ODI World Cups but lost both times to Australia and England. New Zealand will be hoping to go one step further in 2023 and win their first-ever World Cup title.

    They have players who have played in many international matches and tournaments. They also have players who have reached the final of the last two ODI World Cups, like Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, and Tim Southee.

    Conclusion

    The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 promises to be an exciting and competitive tournament, with each team having its chance of winning the title. While India and Australia are the obvious favorites, Pakistan and England are also strong contenders, and New Zealand is always a dark horse. Who is your favorite to win the World Cup?

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  • IPL team owners don’t expect much from mid-season transfers

    IPL team owners don’t expect much from mid-season transfers

    MUMBAI: For the first time in its history, the IPL will witness mid-season transfers introduced by the governing council, allowing players to switch to a new team. There are, however, certain conditions for a player to be eligible for the transfer window.

    The transfer window is currently active and started from match 28 till match 42—which will culminate in each of the teams completing half their IPL campaign with seven games. During this period, all the players who haven’t got the chance to play or have played up to two games are eligible.

    A team owner who didn’t want to be quoted said, “At least this season, I don’t think anything like this is going to happen. Why would somebody want to loan the players out when you know he is going to be a part of all your important strategic meetings and knows how the team is going to play.”

    Teams willing to buy or sell a player will be allowed to negotiate and buy their desired players, just like clubs do in football. Players to be transferred can be uncapped, capped or foreign.

    In the previous seasons, teams would struggle to keep up with the demanding fixtures. In 2016, Rising Pune Supergiant lost Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Marsh to injuries leading to a bottom of the table finish.

    Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua said, “It will become effective only when you have a lot more players sitting on the bench whether it is international or Indian, capped or uncapped players. It’s a good move in that direction but it needs more wings. There might not be a lot that will happen this year but if more players are added in the future then it will probably work.”

    This year, too, many overseas players haven’t played a single game because of injury. Big names such as Pat Cummins (MI), Kagiso Rabada (DD), Mitchell Starc (KKR) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (RCB) have been replaced by Adam Milne, Liam Plunkett, Tom Curran and Corey Anderson, respectively. The ICC’s ban on Steven Smith (RR) and David Warner (SRH) made a place for Heinrich Klaasen and Alex Hales in the team. Indian player Kedar Jadhav got injured in the very first game of this season after a winning knock and was replaced by England all-rounder David Willey.

    Going by these guidelines, some big names who will be available for a swap in this transfer window are Adam Milne, JP Duminy (both MI), Sandeep Lamichhane (DD), Carlos Brathwaite (SRH), Moeen Ali (RCB) and David Willey (CSK).

    Player like Jofra Archer (RR), Faf du Plessis (CSK), Tim Southee (RCB), Alex Hales (SRH), Marcus Stoinis (KXIP), Chris Jordan (SRH) who have played one or two matches and performed well are likely to be retained by their respective franchises.

    MI captain Rohit Sharma has publicly supported the transfers. “The mid-season transfer window will give the teams an opportunity to see what they need in the squad and other teams will also be looking at what players they can get. It completely depends on the franchise if a situation comes when we need to get a player or give a player. It is good for the tournament and will add even more value to it,” he told the Financial Express recently.

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  • Marriott India partners Rising Pune Supergiants for IPL Season 2016

    Marriott India partners Rising Pune Supergiants for IPL Season 2016

    MUMBAI: The digital campaign #MarriottForRPSG, conceptualized in partnership with MindShift Interactive amplifies the Rising Pune Supergiants and Marriott India association for IPL 2016.

    With the #MarriottForRPSG campaign, the agency wanted to highlight the association of Marriott India as the official hospitality partner of Rising Pune Supergiants. The campaign began with over 40 Marriott India properties – Marriott, JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn by Marriott and Renaissance. They came together for a holistic campaign to cheer for the first season of the Rising Pune Supergiants. The month long campaign focused on the common ground between cricket and Marriott – passion. Building on that idea, the campaign started off with profiling the team members – MS Dhoni, Steven Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Kevin Peterson, Faf Du Plessis amongst others whilst highlighting JW Marriott Pune being the official hosts to the team throughout the series.

    An flash mob conducted by the JW Marriott Pune staff was created and captured through a video that received high outreach digital platforms. Keeping the insight behind video content being a key to leveraging engagements, a fair share of videos were created around the associates of Marriott and the teams. A cricket playoff between key players from RPS and students from the Mahindra Pride School, a cause dear to Marriott India was conducted capturing the true essence of two worlds colliding, shared through all the Marriott properties across India. The entire campaign was aptly led by content focusing on the cricket fever through the hashtag #CricketOnMyMind, in the form of rich media such as GIFs and videos presenting the subtle ways cricket  is seen .

    The month long campaign had an overall outreach of 60,00,000 organically, owing an outreach of over 5,00,000 on Facebook and more than 55,00,000 on Twitter. Instagram was leveraged as a secondary platform for properties that were present too.

    MindShift Interactive CEO  Zafar Rais commented, “This was an exciting opportunity for MindShift to partner with not just a few Marriott India properties but with each and every one of them to leverage their association with Rising Pune Super Giants, making it the first of its kind. Leveraging the association on social media was the apt route to take given the level of engagement IPL receives digitally.”

     

  • Marriott India partners Rising Pune Supergiants for IPL Season 2016

    Marriott India partners Rising Pune Supergiants for IPL Season 2016

    MUMBAI: The digital campaign #MarriottForRPSG, conceptualized in partnership with MindShift Interactive amplifies the Rising Pune Supergiants and Marriott India association for IPL 2016.

    With the #MarriottForRPSG campaign, the agency wanted to highlight the association of Marriott India as the official hospitality partner of Rising Pune Supergiants. The campaign began with over 40 Marriott India properties – Marriott, JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn by Marriott and Renaissance. They came together for a holistic campaign to cheer for the first season of the Rising Pune Supergiants. The month long campaign focused on the common ground between cricket and Marriott – passion. Building on that idea, the campaign started off with profiling the team members – MS Dhoni, Steven Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Kevin Peterson, Faf Du Plessis amongst others whilst highlighting JW Marriott Pune being the official hosts to the team throughout the series.

    An flash mob conducted by the JW Marriott Pune staff was created and captured through a video that received high outreach digital platforms. Keeping the insight behind video content being a key to leveraging engagements, a fair share of videos were created around the associates of Marriott and the teams. A cricket playoff between key players from RPS and students from the Mahindra Pride School, a cause dear to Marriott India was conducted capturing the true essence of two worlds colliding, shared through all the Marriott properties across India. The entire campaign was aptly led by content focusing on the cricket fever through the hashtag #CricketOnMyMind, in the form of rich media such as GIFs and videos presenting the subtle ways cricket  is seen .

    The month long campaign had an overall outreach of 60,00,000 organically, owing an outreach of over 5,00,000 on Facebook and more than 55,00,000 on Twitter. Instagram was leveraged as a secondary platform for properties that were present too.

    MindShift Interactive CEO  Zafar Rais commented, “This was an exciting opportunity for MindShift to partner with not just a few Marriott India properties but with each and every one of them to leverage their association with Rising Pune Super Giants, making it the first of its kind. Leveraging the association on social media was the apt route to take given the level of engagement IPL receives digitally.”

     

  • Steven Smith finishes the Ashes as number-one ranked batsman

    Steven Smith finishes the Ashes as number-one ranked batsman

    MUMBAI: Steven Smith has reclaimed the top spot in the latest ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen which were released following the conclusion of The Oval and P.Sara Oval Tests.

    The incoming Australia captain started the Ashes series at the top of the rankings on 913 points, but had lost his place to England’s Joe Root after the Trent Bridge Test. However, after scoring 143 in his side’s an innings and 46 runs victory at the The Oval, the 26-year-old has overtaken second-placed AB de Villiers, as well as Root, who has dropped to third following scores of six and 11. 

    Root had started the series in seventh place on 815 points and has gained 74 points and four places over the course of the series.

    There was further good news for David Warner who has moved up two places to ninth after scoring 85, while Chris Rogers concluded his career in 10th place (after climbing 13 places since the start of the series) as the second-highest left-handed batsmen in the rankings behind another illustrious retiree Kumar Sangakkara, who finished his career in seventh spot. 

    Sangakkara, who scored 32 and 18 in Sri Lanka’s 278 runs defeat at the P.Sara Oval, first reached number-one in the Test batting rankings in December 2007 against England after innings of 92 and 152 in Kandy.

    Sangakkara spent a total of 97 Tests and 812 days as the top-ranked Test batsman in the world and was last number-one in December 2014, before losing the top spot to de Villiers. His highest-ever points tally was 938, achieved on 1 December 2007, and that total is the highest-ever achieved by a Sri Lanka batsman to date and the joint sixth-highest of all-time.

    Meanwhile, Michael Clarke has finished his 115-Test career in 25th spot. Clarke surged to the top of the rankings in August 2009 and did so for the last time in February 2013. During this period, he topped the batting rankings on several occasions (totaling 11 Tests and 70 days).

    Clarke is one of the 30 internationals, including eight Australia batmen, to reach 900 points, which was incidentally his highest points tally that was achieved after the 2012 Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka.

    As an Australia captain, the 34-year-old from Sydney led his team to the top of the ICC Test Team Rankings from May 2011 to July 2014.

    The other big movers in the latest batting rankings are India’s Ajinkya Rahane (up two places to a career-high 20th), Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne (up two to 34th) and England’s Moeen Ali (up two to a career-high 48th), while there were also notable career-high gains for Adam Voges (up 21 to 53rd), and India team-mates Lokesh Rahul (up 30 places to 87th) and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (up 15 places to 100th).

     

    In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Australia’s Mitchell Johnson has climbed two places to sixth after recording match figures of four for 86 runs in London, while Ravichandran Ashwin’s match tally of seven for 118 in Colombo has helped the off-spinner overtake Rangana Herath into eighth place on 769 points, one point behind South Africa’s Vernon Philander. 

    Arising from the conclusion of the fifth Ashes Test, there were gains for Peter Siddle (up three places to 14th) and Nathan Lyon (up two to 16th), while the highest England movers again were Moeen (up four places to 30th) and Ben Stokes (up one place to a career-high 41st). Mitchell Marsh has rocketed 36 places to a career-high 71st place.

    Meanwhile, there were career-high gains for Sri Lanka duo of Dhammika Prasad, whose six for 125 runs in Colombo has helped him move up four places to 25th, while his team-mate Tharindu Kaushal has moved up one place to 59th.

    The biggest mover in the bowling rankings, though, was India leg-spinner Amit Mishra whose match haul of seven for 72 has helped him move up 42 places to a career-high 39th. 

    Ashwin has also gained ground on Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan in the ICC Player Rankings for Test All-rounders and has reduced the deficit on the leader to 43 points.

    The deciding third and final Test between Sri Lanka and India starts at Colombo on Friday. If India wins the series 2-1, it will overtake New Zealand and move into fifth place. However, a Sri Lanka series victory would see it progress to 96 points and overtake India into sixth place. In the event of a 1-1 tied series, Virat Kohli’s side would remain in sixth place, four points clear of Mathews’ men.

     

    Click here for ICC Test player rankings