ODI World Cup digest: India remain undefeated; Afghanistan, Pakistan in must-win territory

The Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 takes place in India from October 5 to November 19. Every morning, we’ll round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the perspectives of our journalists on the ground.

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Featured: Shami, Kohli take unbeaten India to the top of the table

India 274 for 6 (Kohli 95, Rohit 46, Jadeja 39*, Ferguson 2-63) beaten New Zealand 273 (Mitchell 130, Ravindra 75, Shami 5-54, Kuldeep 2-73) by four wickets

They were without their most irreplaceable player in a top-of-the-table clash against a New Zealand team who had gotten the better of them in recent world tournaments, and this New Zealand team put them under pressure at several points. times. But ultimately, India continued to embody the 2023 World Cup equivalent of Gary Lineker’s famous quote about a superteam from a different sport: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and in the end, the Germans always win.

We’re still only halfway through the championship stage, and knockouts are knockouts, but India have looked so difficult to beat that even this match, their most intense fight yet in this tournament, ended with Virat Kohli trying to repeat what he did against Bangladesh. on Thursday, and will deny India a single for victory in an attempt to reach their hundred.

Click here for the full report

Match Analysis: Shami destroys security-focused storyline to present India with another path

Mohammed Shami’s numbers in the 50 overs World Cup are impressive: 12 matches, 36 wickets at an average of 15.02 and an economy of 5.09. Those are the kind of tournament numbers teams aspire to. The teams do everything they can to wrap these artists in cotton wool for fear of injury.

There is no doubt that Shami is one of the leading fast bowlers of India. But so far in the 2023 World Cup, he hasn’t really been the right one. Until Sunday, of course, in Dharamsala, where he left an indelible mark against New Zealand: immaculate control from the attack, complemented by deadly mastery. Even a sublime innings from Virat Kohli could not overshadow Shami’s second five in the World Cup under the Himalayan mist.

Read Shashank Kishore’s full analysis of Dharamsala

One to watch: Cheteshwar Pujara on the key to Daryl Mitchell’s success

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What is the key to Daryl Mitchell’s success?

Cheteshwar Pujara on what makes New Zealand batting so effective

News headlines

• Travis Head is optimistic he can return to play against the Netherlands on Wednesday, but Australia may be cautious about his hand injury given he has yet to have a full session batting against bowlers after his recent arrival in India.

• England will attempt to identify “an X-factor player” to replace Reece Topley, who has been formally ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after scans confirmed a fracture to his left index finger.

Match Preview

Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Chennai (2 p.m. IST; 8:30 a.m. GMT; 7:30 p.m. AEDT

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Pujara, Bond favor Shadab’s return for Pakistan against Afghanistan

Both experts pick Pakistan as favorite to win Chepauk clash

We are now about halfway through the World Cup and the picture is starting to take shape. Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two sides facing off in Chennai, are far from being at the top of the table, and the country is already starting to move closer to must-win territory for each side. A defeat for Afghanistan would almost certainly eliminate them, while a defeat for Pakistan leaves no room for error for Babar Azam’s men.

Afghanistan will feel like there has too often been little to separate the two sides, but they are yet to celebrate an ODI victory against their fiercest regional rivals. They were denied a heartbreaker at the 2019 World Cup after being presented with a golden opportunity to eliminate Pakistan, and victory on Monday would have an almost similar effect. There were enough encouraging signs to suggest this could be a balanced match, although Afghanistan interspersed moments of brilliance with prolonged periods of mediocrity with both bat and ball.

Full overview

Team News

Afghanistan (possible): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz 2 Ibrahim Zadran 3 Rahmat Shah 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain) 5 Azmatullah Omarzai 6 Ikram Alikhil (week) 7 Mohammad Nabi 8 Rashid Khan 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman 10 Naveen-ul-Haq 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Pakistan (possible): 1 Abdullah Shafique 2 Imam-ul-Haq 3 Babar Azam (captain) 4 Mohammad Rizwan (week) 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Mohammad Nawaz/Shadab Khan 7 Iftikhar Ahmed 8 Usama Mir 8 9 Hasan Ali 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 11 Haris Rauf

File: The price to pay for being Babar Azam

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Pujara: Babar succumbed to pressure

Cheteshwar Pujara and Urooj Mumtaz on Babar Azam’s sub-par World Cup

The ball was not as short as one might remember. It wasn’t really a semi-tracker. It was looser – a good length in fact – and very straight, with a few zips on the surface. It was also Adam Zampa; so a little respect for the intention and skills of the delivery person please.

But stay. That’s a moment, a capital M moment in the game that was set up for Babar Azam. Pakistan were 175 for 2,193 for just under 24 overs, on a small pitch, a real surface, a blistering outfield and an attack with limited spin options. A chase of 369 in a World Cup match against Australia was never a breeze, but it’s fair to say that last Friday at the Chinnaswamy, with this line-up, was probably the best opportunity of Pakistan.

Read the full article by Osman Samiuddin