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By K.R. Nayar From Providence, Guyana Guyana is known as the "Land of Many Waters" because of the numerous rivers that criss-cross this region. Although Indian fans outnumber that of England, the question they have in their minds is whether India can sail past England into the final. The number of sixes that have sailed out of the boundary from captain Rohit Sharma’s bat during his breezy 92 against Australia in the Super Eight match at St. Lucia gives them hope that it could be a smooth glide into the final.   Team India all set for the semifinal against England  England’s official Twitter account posted a tweet to provoke India, asking them to recall what happened the last time both teams clashed in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final. India posted 168 for 6 in 20 overs, and England won by 10 wickets, with Jos Butler hitting an unbeaten 80 and Alex Hales an unconquered 84. They won with 24 balls to spare. The BCCI Twitter account hasn't responded because India had j

By K.R. Nayar From Providence, Guyana Whether in Barbados, St. Lucia, or Guyana, it is impressive how former cricket legends are remembered here. It is not only pavilions in the stadiums that are named after them, but the streets and roundabouts too carry their names. There are stadiums named after Viv Richards, Brian Lara, and Darren Sammy.  This got me thinking as to why in India, where cricket is said to be a religion, there is no stadium named after Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, or Kapil Dev. Being with the legendary Clive Lloyd is always a joy In Barbados, the number of roundabouts named after cricketers is remarkable. One has to pass the Gary Sobers, Frank Worrell, and Clyde Walcott roundabouts to reach the stadium. In Guyana, where India will meet England in the second semi-final, there are streets named after Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. It feels special to pass a street named after Lloyd, with whom I have had numerous interviews and spent a l

By K.R. Nayar From Gros Islet, St Lucia Fans living in the US and Canada have reached the different islands where India’s matches are being held. People from Gujarat but living in the US and Canada, who came for the India-Australia match at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, were the happiest. Seven months ago, Australia had humiliated India in the final of the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad, their hometown. A banner mentioning one of their favorite dishes said: “We made Australia into a Thepla (a spicy flatbread).” Mumbai fans, who are proud of Rohit Sharma being a ‘Mumbaikar’, felt that his knock transformed the Australians into a Vada Pav (Indian version of a burger). Incidentally, Vada Pav is Sharma’s favorite food. The majority of the fans for the super eight matches are NRIs living in the US and Canada, especially the techies who are mainly from Andhra Pradesh. Staking their claim, they noted that Sharma’s mother tongue is Telugu since his mother hails from Visakhapatnam,

By K.R. Nayar From Gros Islet, St Lucia Arshdeep Singh’s response to my query during the post-match press conference after the India-Australia match, on how much of a morale booster Rohit Sharma’s breezy knock was before the semifinals summed up India’s 24-run win over Australia in the Super Eight match. Arshdeep said: “He (Rohit) is a legend, and a big knock was always around the corner. So, we were not surprised the way he played today. It came off really well, and in the coming games, we just hope he does the same for us.” What everyone witnessed in this match was truly a legend in action. During Sharma’s knock of 92, he recorded the fastest half-century of this World Cup in just 19 balls, beating Aaron Jones and Quinton De Kock, who had scored their half-centuries in 22 balls against Canada and England, respectively. Sharma also hit eight sixes and seven boundaries during his 41-ball knock. It was the most number of sixes ever by an Indian batter in a T20 World Cup, and not

By K.R. Nayar From Gros Islet, St Lucia Afghanistan’s victory over Australia is the second biggest stunning result from the ongoing ICC T20 2024 World Cup, following USA's victory over Pakistan. It gives me immense pride whenever Afghanistan has stunned or given top teams a fright or fight. And that is because, very likely, I may have reported the most number of Afghanistan’s international matches. Since Afghanistan uses UAE’s venues for their home matches and I am based in Dubai, it just happened naturally. Sharjah Cricket Stadium - opened its doors for the Afghanistan's training sessions and matches   My encounters with the Afghanistan team and their players began when Abdul Rehman Bukhatir, who brought international cricket to the UAE through the Sharjah tournaments, opened the doors of his Sharjah Cricket Stadium for them to train for free. At that time, they were relatively unknown in international cricket and desperately needed an international venue for their matches

By K.R. Nayar From Sir Viv Richards Stadium, Antigua  Every World Cup highlights the oldest cricketer playing in that edition. This time, it is Frank Nsubuga, the 43-year-old Ugandan off-spinner, who took two wickets in their exciting three-wicket win over Papua New Guinea. The passion in many to continue playing always amazes me, especially when you look at UAE-based cricketer Freddy Sidhwa, who at 82, plays the game with the same enthusiasm as a teenager.   Freddy Sidhwa with James Anderson at the Lord's Cricket ground   Nsubuga confirmed Sidhwa’s firm belief that with passion and devotion, one can achieve unbelievable things in cricket. Through a spell of 4-2-4-2 against Papua New Guinea, he gave Uganda their first win in the T20 World Cup, and also bowled back-to-back wicket maidens. While this was happening in the World Cup, Sidhwa's passion for cricket led him to play at the historic Lord’s ground in London alongside James Anderson, the pacer renowned for his long

By K.R. Nayar From Sir Viv Richards Stadium, Antigua Team India    extended their winning streak with a 50-run victory over Bangladesh, marking their fifth consecutive win in this edition of the World Cup. Many factors, such as teamwork, strategic planning, and above all, a brave approach, can be attributed to their success. Let’s take a closer look to find out if that is really the case. The manner in which the    Indian batsmen executed their strokes bravely and kept the scoreboard moving after being put into bat was a treat to watch. As a result, India, posted 196 for 5, the highest score on this ground in T20 cricket. Skipper Rohit Sharma led the way, hitting 23 off 11 balls. His partnership of 39 with Virat Kohli in 3.4 overs was their highest in this tournament. The crowd was hoping they would get to see more of him. After the win, Rohit said: “I don't believe we need to get fifties and hundreds; what matters is the pressure we put on the bowlers. All our batters played