07 It’s about battles on the field. It’s about do-or-die situations. It’s about just one goal. It’s about victory. In short, it’s about playing fair. Howzzat? Well, that’s SIMPLY SPORTS! P ushed to the wall, England bounced back in style to stay alive and skipper Eoin Morgan says that the hosts are very much in contention for a maiden World Cup trophy, pro- vided they produce their ‘A-game’ in the remaining matches. Back-to-back defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia threatened to derail England’s World Cup campaign but they came up with a great show when it mat- tered and defeated India by 31 runs on Sunday to stay afloat. “Yeah, it is. The closer we can get to playing our A-game, the more of a chance we have of going the whole way. If we’re scraping our way along, not playing the type of cricket we played in the last four years, I wouldn’t be as confident,” Mor- gan said at the post-match press conference. “I think the manner in which we played today, partic- ularly with the bat, was out- standing. It certainly resonates with everybody in the change room to the identity which we wanted to play with in this tour- nament. It’s come at a really good time and against an ex- tremely strong team. So we’re delighted.” PTI R ishabh Pant has the big game but ex- pecting the young- ster to deliver from the start in an event like the World Cup perhaps is not the right thing to do, feels India’s vice-captain Rohit Sharma. Pant’s exclusion from the playing XI at the ex- pense of Vijay Shankar had been hotly-debated and Rishabh did show some spunk in his 32 . Asked if he was sur- prised to see Rishabh at the critical No 4 position when an in-form Hardik Pandya was more suitable for the role, Rohit’s answer was laced with sarcasm. “Not really because all you guys wanted Rishabh Pant to play, right. All you guys, right, from India? Where is Rishabh Pant? Where is Rishabh Pant? There he is at Number 4,” Rohit said. Rohit feels Rishabh certainly does need a bit more confidence while go- ing for the big hits. “He just needs confidence be- cause, obviously, playing his first game, expecting a lot is not right at the mo- ment from him, but he should just come and play and enjoy his cricket. When he does that, he will do well,” he said. PTI ‘Expecting a lot from Pant at the onset is not right’ Photo: AP “The closer we can get to playing our A-game, the more of a chance we have of going the whole way,” said England captain Morgan. England have jumped to the fourth spot with 10 points from eight games and will need to beat New Zealand in their last league match Wednesday to be assured of a semifinal spot. Photo: REUTERS We need to play our A-game: Morgan HAMID ENDS CAREER WITH INJURY Afghanistan’s Hamid Hassan felt he could have stopped Pakistan from getting over the line in a thrilling World Cup match if his one-day career hadn’t come to an end with a painful injury. Paceman Hassan, 32, could only bowl two overs before injuring his hamstring as Pakistan overcame a tense chase to beat the minnows on Saturday. Afghanistan, playing in their second WC, are winless in the 10-team group stage with one match to play. AFP Photo: AP ‘WE DON’T TALK ABOUT 1992’ INDIA DEFEAT WAS TURNING POINT: STARC Photo: AP Pacer Wahab Riaz says his team is not reading too much into the parallels being drawn with Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup victory despite experiencing a similar resur- gence. “We don’t really talk about 1992 that much. The first thing is in this team, everybody has the same pur- pose. That’s where we started off and where we remain,” Riaz said. AFP Mitchell Starc said the lessons learnt from a defeat by title rivals India were behind cham- pions Australia’s impres- sive surge to the semi- finals of the World Cup. Oz had already booked their place in the last four ahead their 86-run win over New Zealand on Saturday. AFP T he ongoing edition of the World Cup in England and Wales has seen keen com- petition between bat and ball with the bowlers giving the batsmen a run for their mon- ey and the International Crick- et Council (ICC) CEO Dave Richardson says the idea has been to avoid preparing bat- ting paradises. Speaking to media, Richard- son said that balance has been the key word when it comes to preparing wickets in this edi- tion of the World Cup. “We have looked at bringing in balance with even wickets. It is not about preparing batting paradises. The weather also comes into the picture and a wicket with even bounce throughout the game is what we look at,” he said. Asked if this sets a precedent for the future tour- naments, Richardson said: “Yes, the idea is to have bal- ance. The overcast conditions in England also helps. It al- lows you that position.” IANS Q.1) Who among the following cricketers have not played any Test match for India? A. Sunil Gavaskar B. Gagan Khoda C. Mohinder Amarnath D. Rahul Dravid Q.2) Which NBA player won the Rookie of the Year award for the 2018-19 season? A. Pascal Siakam B. Trae Young C. Luka Doncic D. Jason Kidd Q.3) Who won the NBA Most Valuable Player award for the 2018-19 season? A. Giannis Antetokounmpo B. Kyrie Irving C. Kevin Durant D. DeAndre Jordan Q.4) With which sport is Tim Duncan associated? A. Marathon B. Football C. Basketball D. Skating Q.5) Name the sports personality in the picture. A. Kusal Perera B. Isuru Udana C. Angelo Mathews D. Jeevan Mendis ANSWERS 1. B. Gagan Khoda, 2. C. Luka Doncic, 3. A. Giannis Antetokounmpo, 4. C. Basketball , 5. D. Jeevan Mendis Balance keyword for wickets this WC: ICC CEO Photo: AFP Eoin Morgan Rishabh Pant ☛ After India’s 31-run defeat against England in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle said the team did not try ‘hard enough’ at the end to win the game. ☛ “I thought India were trying to win it till the time when Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant were batting and then all of a sudden everyone is looking at everyone else because I do not think India tried hard enough to win at the end,” Bhogle said in a video post- ed on the official Cricket World Cup website. ANI India did not try hard enough to win, says Harsha Bhogle Harsha Bhogle Photo: AP Edgbaston turns blue for One Day for Children campaign E dgbaston turned blue on Sunday as the ICC Crick- et for Good, in partner- ship with UNICEF, delivered the pinnacle event of the tour- nament, the One Day for Chil- dren campaign, with a special celebration at the England ver- sus India World Cup match in Birmingham. The money raised throughout the campaign will support UNICEF’s work for children in cricket playing na- tions across the world, as the sport’s one billion fans unite to ensure children have the chance to learn, play and be healthy. A core focus of the ac- tivities on Sunday was to max- imise fundraising from the in- venue and broadcast audi- ence. IANS I ndian middle order batsmen MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav were at the receiving end of fan fury after India suffered their first defeat of the 2019 World Cup at the hands of hosts England in Birmingham Sunday. Chasing 338, India required 71 runs off the last five overs with five wickets remaining, but Dhoni and Kedar scored 40 runs as India went on to lose the match by 31 runs. In the final 30 balls, the duo could only manage three fours and a six as the required run rate per over crossed the 14-run mark.The effort, especially from veteran finisher Dhoni drew sharp criticism from cricket pundits and fans. Dhoni’s style of play has been un- der the scanner in the last few games where he has been accused of taking too much time to settle in and not be- ing able to clear the fence with ease, like he could earlier. Once again on Sunday, Dhoni was not quite able to accelerate when re- quired. Although Dhoni ended up scor- ing an unbeaten 42 off 31 balls, the chase went out of hand as both he and Jadhav were not not able to find the fence in the death overs. Though Dhoni and Jadhav have been drawing flak, the Indian batting effort overall wasn’t a great one, con- sidering India are thought to be one of the better chasing teams in world crick- et. The pace of the innings and the way it was planned raised many eyebrows. India need to win one of their remaining two group matches to clinch their semi-final berth, with their next clash against Bangladesh slated for Tues- day back in Birmingham. Kohli was not too pleased with the ground in Birming- ham having a very short boundary on one side, saying the toss became crucial due to this factor. “The toss was vital, especially since the bound- ary was that short. It is a coincidence that it just falls under the limitations of the shortest boundary you can have,” Kohli said. TIMESOFINDIA.COM & AGENCIES Jonny Bairstow’s bat does the talking after spat with Vaughan J onny Bairstow has one predominant ex- pression that he wears on his face. It’s of a person who has been wronged but who is sto- ically living through the vicissitudes of life. It’s with his batting that he seems to be expressing his anger. His sole in- tention is to blast the life out of the ball and he is ready to use agricul- tural shots to achieve this end. He often uses his bat as an axe, going about his job without any emotion. The recent Bairstow-Michael Vaughan spat over Twitter indicat- ed that Bairstow does carry some anger within him. In response to former England captain’s pun- gent criticism of the England team over a wobbly World Cup cam- paign, Bairstow had said, “People were wait- ing for us to fail. They are not willing us on to win, in many ways, so they can jump on your throat.” He added, “It’s a typical English thing to do, in every sport.” While Vaughan called him “negative and pathetic,” Bairstow’s comments evoked widespread reaction with many asking him to exercise restraint. A few advised him to let his bat do the talking. Bairstow did exactly that, cracking a typical- ly bellicose century when England needed it the most. His 109-ball 111 pro- pelled England to 337/7 against India in a game England could- n’t afford to lose. Jonny was helped along by the return of regular opening partner Jason Roy. Roy had not batted in the last four WC games, leaving Bairstow alone to address top-order issues for England. He tried gamely but without Roy at the other end, his ef- ficacy declined. TNN “They (England) played better cricket throughout this match. While batting they had not one but three partnerships. On the other side we had only one big partnership,” said Rohit Sharma, Indian vice-captain. “When MS and Kedar were batting, I think they were trying to hit, but they were not able to because of the slowness of the pitch,” he added. “You’ve got to give credit to English team because they used the condi- tions really well. They used the longer boundary really well.” Vijay Shankar out of WC, Mayank Agarwal set to join team Mayank Agarwal I ndian all-rounder Vijay Shankar was Monday ruled out of the ongoing World Cup due to a toe injury and is likely to be replaced by Mayank Agarwal. Karnataka opener Agarwal, 28, who made his Test debut against Australia last year, has not yet played in the ODI format. “Vijay got hit on the toe by a Jasprit Bumrah delivery once again. His situa- tion is not great and he won’t be able to take part in the tournament. He is going back home,” a a senior BCCI official said. “The Indian team management is likely to ask for Mayank Agarwal as re- placement since he is an opener and also it might give KL Rahul a chance to get back to the No.4 position in case Rishabh Pant fails in the next two games,” the source added. In fact, Rohit Sharma had mentioned Shankar's injury but it was presumed to be an old hit that he took at Southamp- ton. It is expected that Agarwal's name will be approved by the ICC's tournament technical committee and the player will arrive in Birmingham and travel to Leeds subsequently. India lost their previous match to England by 31 runs here on Sunday and will take on Bangladesh at the same ven- ue on Tuesday. PTI I ndia have been the in-form team in this edition of the World Cup in England and Wales, Bangladesh on the oth- er hand have been a team which has punched above its weight and shown that they have finally realised the need to be consistent at the top lev- el. Despite a loss to England on Sunday, India go into the game on Tuesday at the Edg- baston Cricket Ground in Birmingham as favourites. But a look at the history be- tween the two teams will tell you that the Tigers have often roared fiercely when compet- ing against the Men in Blue and this time round, they have mo- mentum on their side. An in- form Shakib Al Hasan, some quality performers in Mah- mudullah Riyad and Tamim Iqbal and a skipper in Mashrafe Mortaza. Not to forget the tal- ented Mustafizur Rahman. Having earned a well-de- served break, the Bangladesh are raring to go and they will undoubtedly be banking on their biggest star in this edi- tion — Shakib — to once again lead from the front with both bat and ball. And when it comes to clashes against India, one man who seems to be high on energy is former skipper and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim. India on the other hand have taken a day off on the eve of their game against Bangladesh as they played an intense game against England on Sunday. While it was their first loss of the tournament, it has shown a few areas that do need fine-tuning. IANS In response to former England cap- tain’s pungent criticism of the England team over a wobbly World Cup campaign, Bairstow had said, “People were waiting for us to fail...” Bairstow’s comments evoked wide- spread reaction with many asking him to exercise restraint. A few advised him to let his bat do the talking. Bairstow did exactly that, cracking a 109-ball 111 that pro- pelled England to 337/7 against India in a game England could- n’t afford to lose. We have to assess what’s going to happen here in Birmingham. If the wick- et’s going to turn then it’s best for us to have a spinner bowling earlier as well trying to get an early wicket. But obvi- ously with the new ball if there is going to be any swing or movement, we would want the seamers to use it as well. Courtney Walsh, Bangladesh bowling coach Photo: REUTERS Shakib Al Hasan BAIRSTOW’S 111 HELPED ENGLAND WIN DHONI, JADHAV TRIED TO HIT BUT COULDN’T: ROHIT SHARMA Jonny Bairstow, England batsman Photo: REUTERS Disappointing finish. A run-a-ball partnership can't win games. Was exciting till Pandya was in. — Harsha Bhogle “India going down without fight” - Nasser Hussain “I dont have explaination for these sin- gles” - Ganguly #INDvENG #Dhoni — Cricket Freak Not sure what Kedar and Dhoni trying to do here. Its not about winning but its about showing the intent to win.... — Broken Cricket Kohli always defends Dhoni by saying that Dhoni knows what is required..... Does he know what is required now? — Gappistan Radio Dhoni, Jadhav draw flak for ‘lack of intent’ during run-chase vs England Photo: AFP MS Dhoni Plugging gaps key for India in Bangla test