Cricket news round-up – December 9: Virat Kohli blames fielding after West Indies level series

India’s impressive victory in Hyderabad was confined to the memories as West Indies hit back with an eight-wicket win at Thiruvananthapuram. Elsewhere, Brisbane Heat defended their WBBL title, and Afghanistan name their Under-19 squad for the World Cup.

All-round West Indies level series

India were seen off quite comprehensively by West Indies in the second T20I in Trivandrum on Sunday, December 8, with the visitors securing an 8-wicket victory.

India once again struggled when asked to bat first, with the top order struggling. Shivam Dube, pushed up to one-drop, scored a 30-ball 54 and Rishabh Pant’s 22-ball 33* helped India post 170/7.

However, that was far from sufficient against a power-packed West Indies side. Lendl Simmons’ 45-ball 67* and sizeable scores from Evin Lewis (40), Shimron Hetmyer (23) and Nicholas Pooran (38) helped West Indies coast the chase.

India below-par in the field – Virat Kohli

After another display in which the fielding left must to be desire, India captain Virat Kohli has conceded the team has been poor in the field.

India dropped two catches in the West Indies chase, with both Simmons and Lewis going to post decent scores. More concerningly, this was the second consecutive game in which India’s fielders have been off colour.

“No, not (happy with the fielding) at all. In the last two games we’ve been below-par on the field,” he said in the post-match presentation. “But if you drop two chances in a T20 game then, it’s going to cost you. If they’d lost two wickets in an over, they’d have been under pressure. It’s there for everyone to see. Fielding is something … we need to be more brave. We shouldn’t be afraid of dropping catches.”

Ibrahim Zadran in Afghanistan U19 squad

Ibrahim Zadran, the opening Test batsman, has been named in Afghanistan’s 15-man squad for the ICC Under 19 World Cup 2020 starting next month.

Zadran, 17, played the previous edition of the tournament as well in 2018, and will be the leading light of a squad captained by 16-year-old Farhan Zakhil.

Squad: Farhan Zakhil (c), Sediq Atal, Rahmanullah Zadran, Ibrahim Zadran, Ishaq Mohammadi, Noor Ahmad, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Jamshid Mir Alikhil, Abdul Rahman, Abid Taniwal, Fazal Haq, Imran Mir, Zohaib Zamankhil, Asif Musazai and Abid Mohammadi

Brisbane Heat secure back-to-back WBBL titles

Brisbane Heat saw off Adelaide Strikers by six wickets to secure their second consecutive WBBL title at the Allan Border Field on Sunday.

Brisbane restricted Adelaide to 161/7 after securing the early dismissal of the in-form Sophie Devine. Thereafter, Beth Mooney led the charge in the chase, scoring a half-century as Brisbane went past the target with 11 balls to spare.

The victory meant Brisbane are now joint-top with Sydney Sixers among the sides to have won the WBBL most – two times each.