BRIDGETOWN: Chris Jordan took four wickets in five balls, including the third hat-trick of the T20 World Cup, as defending champions England qualified for the semifinals with a 10-wicket thrashing of the United States in his native Barbados on Sunday.
The 35-year-old all-rounder, born and educated on the Caribbean island, justified his recall for this match in spectacular fashion with the remarkable figures of 4-10 in 2.5 overs as the United States were dismissed for 115.
England captain Jos Buttler then led from the front in a blistering chase with an unbeaten 83, featuring five sixes in an over from Harmeet Singh, as his side raced to their target in a mere 9.4 overs.
By winning so quickly, England secured a place in the last four, regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s final Group Two Super Eights match between co-hosts the West Indies and South Africa in Antigua and any associated net run-rate calculations.
Buttler faced just 38 balls, including six fours and seven sixes, but the day belonged to Jordan, whose hat-trick was the third of this tournament, with Australia’s Pat Cummins achieving the feat against both Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and the first by an England bowler in any men’s T20 international.
“Unbelievable feeling, more importantly to restrict USA and to do it in a special place like this is always nice,” said Jordan.
“Been on a hat-trick a few times, nice to get it on target this time.”
Buttler added: “I wanted to bring CJ back in to add a little bit of depth to the batting and we know what he is capable of with the ball. He executed it fantastically well, and a World Cup hat-trick is a great effort.”
As for his own form, Buttler said: “Personally it’s really important I continue this into the semifinals. I have been feeling good all year, I feel I am hitting the ball well and it is nice to get that confidence.”
The United States, one of the surprise packages of the event after defeating Pakistan on their way to the second round, were 115-6 when Jordan came onto bowl the 19th over.
His first ball of the over saw Corey Anderson hit a fast and low full toss to Harry Brook at long-on as the former New Zealand all-rounder fell for 29.
Two balls later, paceman Jordan clean bowled Ali Khan for a duck, the off-stump knocked out of the ground.
Next ball Nosthush Kenjige was plumb lbw and Jordan then completed his hat-trick — and ended the innings — by bowling Saurabh Netravalkar between bat and pad to remove the last man’s middle stump.
The United States were relatively well-placed at 48-2 at the end of the six-over powerplay.
But leg-spinner Adil Rashid then bowled two excellent googlies to dismiss Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar, whose 30 was the highest score of the innings, in a miserly haul of 2-13.
England started their reply knowing victory in 17.4 overs would see them advance to the semifinals regardless of events elsewhere.
Buttler signalled his intentions early on with an extraordinary 104-meter six before Mumbai-born left-arm spinner Singh then felt the full force of his bat.
England must now wait another 24 hours to discover the identity of their semifinal opponents.
Jordan, Buttler star as England thrash USA to reach T20 World Cup semifinals
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Jordan, Buttler star as England thrash USA to reach T20 World Cup semifinals
- By winning so quickly, England secured a place in the last four, regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s final Group Two Super Eights match
Pakistan’s first Olympic markswoman, Kishmala Talat, guns for historic medal
- The 21-year-old Talat, who comes from a military family, is the first Pakistani woman to qualify for Olympic shooting
- Talat has won dozens of medals at national level and four internationally, including Pakistan’s first shooting medal ever, a bronze, at the Asian Games last year
JHELUM, Pakistan: Slowing her breath and focusing on a bullseye in her pistol’s sights, Kishmala Talat is aiming to become the first woman from Pakistan to win an Olympic medal.
At the Paris Games starting on July 26, Talat will compete in the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events, going for glory abroad and defying stereotypes back home.
Pakistan’s medal prospects are undercut by modesty codes which dissuade women from participating in sport.
The 21-year-old Talat, who comes from a military family, is the first Pakistani woman to qualify for Olympic shooting.
“In Pakistan there’s a prevalent taboo that dictates girls should stay at home, do girly things, and play with dolls, while boys are to play with guns,” she said.
“I see no one as competition. I compete with myself,” she told AFP at a target range in the eastern city of Jhelum.
Talat has won dozens of medals at national level and four internationally, including Pakistan’s first shooting medal ever, a bronze, at the Asian Games last year.
Pakistan have only ever won 10 Olympic medals — all by men — and none since the 1992 Games.
Talat, who has just completed her university degree in communications, realistically faces an uphill task to get on the podium in Paris.
She has a global ranking of 37th in the 10m event and is 41st in the 25m, according to the International Shooting Sport Federation.
“I longed for recognition. I wanted to do more,” she said.
“I wanted that whenever shooting is discussed, or ‘Kishmala’ is mentioned, it would be associated with someone who did something great for Pakistan.”
Hoping to defy the odds, she spends 10 hours a day training — one hour of physical exercise and then four hours each on the 10m and 25m ranges.
The last hour in the evening is spent meditating, concentrating on the flickering flame of a candle in an attempt to hone the zen needed to find her target.
“I am dedicated to giving my best performance to let Pakistan’s name shine,” said Talat.
She takes her shots with her spare hand stuffed in her pocket and one eye covered by custom-fit glasses, her face frozen in expressionless concentration.
The sport of target shooting is not a common pursuit in Pakistan.
Cricket is by far the most popular pastime, but all sports suffer from chronic underfunding.
However, guns are omnipresent in Pakistan.
Swiss weapons research group the Small Arms Survey estimated in 2017 that there were nearly 44 million legal or illicit guns held by civilians in Pakistan.
The figure is the fourth highest globally and means there are 22 weapons per every hundred citizens in the nation of more than 240 million.
Talat’s talent has been nurtured by Pakistan’s military, the sixth-largest in the world with a vast budget allowing it to operate ski resorts, polo grounds and mountaineering academies.
Talat is trained by officers and a foreign coach at a military facility in Jhelum, known as “City of Martyrs” for its strong ties to the armed forces.
She hails from the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where the armed forces are headquartered.
Her 53-year-old mother, Samina Yaqoob, serves as a major in the military’s nursing service and proudly displays her daughter’s many medals in the family living room.
Yaqoob once dreamed of competing herself.
“I got married and got busy with that life, but it makes me happy when I see my daughter move forward with my dream,” she said.
“Girls should step forward, observe, work diligently and their parents should support them,” the mother said.
“She believes she can do anything. That’s just who she is.”
Bhatia grabs PGA Detroit lead with fabulous finish
- Bhatia: This tournament is always kind of a birdie-fest, so birdies and eagles help a lot
- The 22-year-old American is seeking his third career PGA title and third within the past year
WASHINGTON: Akshay Bhatia made four birdies and an eagle in the last seven holes to seize a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the US PGA Tour Rocket Mortgage Classic.
The 22-year-old American fired a bogey-free 8-under par 64 at Detroit Golf Club to finish just ahead of countrymen Michael Kim and Taylor Montgomery for 18 holes.
“I’ve been playing pretty solid,” Bhatia said. “It’s nice to be in this position.
“Putted great. I missed one green today, so I got that up and down. All in all, I hit it pretty nice with the irons and I made some putts.”
A fourth-place pack on 66 included England’s Aaron Rai, Germany’s Matti Schmid and Americans Eric Cole, Will Zalatoris and defending champion Rickie Fowler.
Bhatia is seeking his third career PGA title and third within the past year, having won playoffs to capture last July’s Barracuda Championship and last April’s Texas Open.
After birdies at the second and par-5 fourth holes from 10 and 16 feet respectively, Bhatia began his late charge with a 10-foot birdie putt at 12 and a 16-footer at the par-5 14th.
Bhatia knocked in a birdie from just inside six feet at 16 then chipped in from 82 feet at the par-5 17th and sank a seven-foot birdie putt at 18.
“It’s always nice to finish like that,” Bhatia said. “This tournament is always kind of a birdie-fest, so birdies and eagles help a lot.
“These greens are pretty tricky, they have a lot of small slopes, but they’re soft so you can still be aggressive toward a couple of these pins.”
Montgomery, chasing his first PGA triumph, birdied six of the first nine holes and added a tap-in birdie at the par-5 17th in a bogey-free round.
Playing was a last-minute decision due to nagging shoulder injuries.
“I wasn’t expecting to play as solid as I did. I had no idea what I was getting into,” Montgomery said. “I probably played four times in the last two months. I haven’t been like grinding as hard as I could.
“I haven’t worked hard at all on my game because I haven’t been able to. Come out and shoot 7-under. What the hell? How is that possible? It’s so weird.”
Kim, a back-nine starter, closed his bogey-free round with three consecutive birdies, tap-ins at seven and nine, to seize his share of the lead.
“I felt better as the round went on,” Kim said. “Got off to a scrappy start, then I kind of got into the groove of things and was able to make some really nice putts for some birdies.”
Unbeaten India and South Africa ready to end glory waits in T20 World Cup final
- India crushed defending champions England by 68 runs a day after South Africa thrashed Afghanistan by nine wickets
- This will be South Africa’s first senior men’s final since the inaugural Champions Trophy played in Bangladesh in 1998
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Unbeaten throughout almost a month of cricket across the USA and the Caribbean, India and South Africa will face off at the Kensington Oval on Saturday in the T20 World Cup final both looking to end long waits for glory.
A tournament which has been a mixed bag in terms of quality, entertainment and attendances, has certainly succeeded in setting up a final between the two best teams in the shortest format.
India crushed defending champions England by 68 runs in Guyana on Thursday, the day after South Africa thrashed Afghanistan by nine wickets in Trinidad to end a long and agonizing wait for a title game.
This will be South Africa’s first senior men’s final since the inaugural Champions Trophy in Bangladesh in 1998 when the Proteas beat the West Indies in the title match.
Over the years they have been labelled ‘chokers’ by their critics and had many question how a nation that has produced so many talented players, hasn’t been able to make a final for 26 years.
Skipper Aiden Markram was part of the team which were beaten by Australia in the ODI World Cup last year but says the players haven’t reflected much on the years of near-misses and disappointments.
“We haven’t spoken about it to be honest. I think it’s a personal and individual motivation that you get to a final; to earn the opportunity to hopefully lift the trophy,” he said after the win over the Afghans.
“So you reflect back to five months ago we couldn’t get over the line in that semifinal and you look at (here) a few things went our way. We managed to win the game and we found ourselves in the final.”
Certainly there has been no hint that South Africa have lacked belief in this tournament — they topped group D with a 100 percent record including wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Then in the Super Eights, they won all three games with victories over England and co-hosts West Indies and the USA.
“This team’s been together for a long time now as a white ball group, both formats. We feel and we believe that we can compete with the best in the world and we can win trophies. And it’s nice for us to now have that opportunity,” Markram said.
“You do get belief though from winning close games and potentially winning games that you thought you weren’t going to win. It does a lot for your changing room and the vibe in the changing room. So, we’ll take a little bit of confidence from that and see if we can put it to any use in the final,” he added.
India have the chance to banish the memory of their loss to Australia in the final of the 50-over World Cup on home soil last year.
Despite India being the epicenter of the T20 game, through the hugely successful Indian Premier League competition, their only triumph in this competition came 17 years ago.
India’s last trophy of any kind was the Champions Trophy in 2013.
But the team have taken care of their business with little drama, beating arch-rivals Pakistan in New York and going on to win their group before a key win over Australia in the Super Eights.
“We’ve been very calm,” said captain Rohit Sharma.
“We understand the occasion of the final. It’s important we stay composed, because that helps you make good decisions. We have been very steady, calm, and that has been the key for us,” he added.
It was India’s spinners who were the heroes against England with left-armers Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel taking three wickets each.
But they also possess one of the most effective quick bowlers in the format in Jasprit Bumrah.
Rohit, 37, and fellow opener Virat Kohli, 35, came into this tournament looking for glory in what could well be their final tournament.
While Rohit has made more runs, 248, than any player in the final, Kohli has disappointed with just 75 runs in seven innings but has the perfect stage on which to make that form irrelevant.
The historic home of West Indies cricket, should produce the right atmosphere with a large contingent of Indian supporters, as always, expected at the game.
US battling for Copa survival after Panama upset
ATLANTA: A moment of madness from Timothy Weah left the USA’s Copa America campaign hanging by a thread on Thursday as the hosts crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat to Panama.
Juventus winger Weah was sent off in the 18th minute after an off-the-ball clash with Panama’s Roderick Miller in a stormy Group C battle at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Although Folarin Balogun fired the US into the lead four minutes after Weah’s dismissal, Panama’s extra man advantage ultimately took its toll and the Central Americans hit back with goals from Cesar Blackman and Jose Fajardo to seal victory.
The defeat means the United States will almost certainly have to win or draw against mighty Uruguay in their final group game next Monday to advance to the knockout rounds.
US coach Gregg Berhalter said after the defeat that Weah’s red card had been the decisive moment of the match, describing Weah’s actions as “silly.”
“The match-changing event is obviously the red card and it puts us in a tough spot but we expected that from them,” Berhalter said.
“I can’t fault the effort of the group, especially after going down a man. The guys dug in and we were close to coming out with a point. But it’s a shame, because there was more in this game, and a silly decision by Timmy leaves us shorthanded.”
Weah, meanwhile, took to social media to apologize for his red card.
“A moment of frustration led to an irreversible consequence, and for that, I am deeply sorry to my teammates, coaches, family and our fans,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I sincerely apologize to everyone. My love for this team goes beyond just football and I’m so sad and angry at myself for putting my brothers through what they went through tonight.”
Berhalter’s team might have snatched the lead in the 81st minute after Weston McKennie’s fine run and cross found substitute Ricardo Pepi at the far post. Pepi’s tame header fell into the arms of Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera, however, to leave it at 1-1.
That miss proved costly, as with seven minutes remaining, Fajardo swept in an emphatic finish from Abdiel Ayarza’s low cross to put Panama 2-1 ahead.
A fractious finale saw Adalberto Carrasquilla sent off after a cynical hack on US captain Christian Pulisic in the dying minutes as Panama hung on for the win.
“That’s soccer at the end of the day. We know what we signed up for and playing in a Copa America, we knew it was going to be a fight,” US midfielder Tyler Adams said afterwards.
“Credit to Panama, they did their job and they got the result. Obviously, I think moving forward, we need to control our emotions in certain situations.
“The team fought for everything after we got the red card. Definitely can’t fault the effort. But by winning the first game we’ve put ourselves still in a position that we have all to fight for in the next game.”
Adams said Weah had apologized for his rash dismissal following the game.
“You never mean to get a red card, under any circumstances,” Adams said of Weah. “He’s not that type of person.
“He apologized to the team. And you know, just respect to the rest of the team because they fought for every single ball, every single duel, every single minute, and we still created chances even after going down to 10 men.”
Uruguay were facing Bolivia in Thursday’s late game in Group C.
Victor Wembanyama ‘can’t wait’ for a France-USA showdown at the Paris Olympics
- The US beat France 87-82 in the final at the Tokyo Games
- This time, though, France have Wembanyama, who at 20 years old is making his Olympic debut
- Playing in front of home fans, France are considered among the strongest teams alongside the US, Canada, Serbia and Germany.
PARIS: Victor Wembanyama plays against the top names in the game with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. He can’t wait to do the same for France at the Paris Olympics.
The NBA Rookie of the Year was asked Thursday about the potential for a France-USA final and possibly battling against LeBron James and Stephen Curry for the gold medal in his home city.
“I can’t wait to face them, it will be a very interesting matchup,” Wembanyama said at a news conference in Paris. “As a basketball player, it’s also a dream to play against Team USA and even against all those players, all those legends.”
The US beat France 87-82 in the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
This time, though, France have Wembanyama, who at 20 years old is making his Olympic debut. He’s the biggest star of the French team and at the center of attention, both on and off the court.
“I believe it’s the biggest competition for an athlete. But I’m going to approach it like everything else in my life: a sporting pleasure,” Wembanyama said.
For France coach Vincent Collet, it’s a sporting pleasure to have both Wembanyama and fellow NBA star Rudy Gobert, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year, disrupting opposing offenses.
“If we want to reach our dream, we will have to display exceptional defense,” said Collet, who will be assisted by the newly appointed Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson.
France, who have never won an Olympic gold medal in basketball, was set to hold their first full practice on Friday in Paris. They have six warmup games in July.
The players will miss the opening ceremony of the Olympics on July 26 because Francea re scheduled to play their first game the following day in Lille, 220 kilometers (136 miles) north of Paris, where the group stage for the 12-team tournament will take place.
“Victor would be arriving in Lille at 3 or 4 in the morning if he were to participate in the ceremony. That would put a stop to his preparation for the Games,” said Fabrice Canet, a spokesman for the French national team.
France doesn’t know their first opponent yet — it will be the winner of the last qualifying tournament next week. The host nation then plays Japan and reigning world champion Germany in Group B.
Playing in front of home fans, France are considered among the strongest teams alongside the US, Canada, Serbia and Germany.
