The highly anticipated ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 has kick started in the United States of America and West Indies. While the co-hosts USA registered their maiden win in the tournament opener, West Indies also opened their winning account at the marquee tournament as they defeated Papua New Guinea by five wickets at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
In this article, we’ll look at all the big news that took place on Sunday, June 2, but before that, let's check the matches scheduled for the day.
Today's match preview
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024:
- Sri Lanka vs South Africa: Sri Lanka will open their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against South Africa in the Group D match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. After winning the T20 World Cup for the first-time in 2014, Sri Lanka have gone down the ranks in the T20I format, but they still possess a few match winners who can turn over any opponent on their day. Meanwhile, after narrowly missing out on a semi-final spot in the last two editions of the T20 World Cup, South Africa will be looking to go all the way in the current edition of the tournament.
Major cricket events that happened on June 2
David Wiese shines as Namibia beat Oman in Super Over at T20 World Cup 2024
Namibia beat Oman in their tournament opener at the T20 World Cup 2024 on June 3 at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. The Gerhard Erasmus-led side earlier won the toss and invited Oman to bat first. The Aqib Ilyas-led side were bowled out at the score of 109 in 19.4 overs with Zeeshan Maqsood (22) and Khalid Khan (34) being the top scorers. Furthermore, Namibia levelled the score in their 20 overs with Jan Frylinck scoring a crucial 45 off 48 balls. With the match going into the Super Over, Namibia finally got off the mark with David Wiese finishing as the Player of Match with his crucial performance with the ball as well as ball.
Roston Chase’s unbeaten 42 helps West Indies beat Papua New Guinea by five wickets
West Indies stumbled and stuttered their way to the finish line to kickstart their home World Cup campaign with a 5-wicket win over PNG. Chasing a low target of 137 in a rain-interrupted run-chase, the hosts took 19 overs to finish the contest against a disciplined PNG unit. Roston Chase led the way with an unbeaten 27-ball 42, with several other players chipping in with bat and ball.
Rohit Sharma drops massive hint on Team India's opening combination
Speaking after India’s 60-run win against Bangladesh in the T20WC 2024 warm-up match, captain Rohit Sharma hinted at the possible opening combination. With Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli, both in the main squad, Rohit opened with Sanju Samson after Virat’s unavailability. Furthermore, Jaiswal did not get the taste of batting conditions, hinting it could be Virat Kohli opening with Rohit.
I would love to coach the Indian team: Gautam Gambhir
Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir expressed he would "love to coach" Team India. In a recent event at the Medeor Hospital in Abu Dhabi, Gambhir was asked if he wished to coach Team India. Gambhir responded to the question: "I would love to coach the Indian team. There is no bigger honor than coaching your national team."
I won’t be bowling early on in T20 World Cup 2024: Mitchell Marsh
Ahead of Australia’s T20 World Cup 2024 opener, captain Mitchell Marsh provided a big update on his fitness. "Yeah, I won't be bowling early on in the tournament. And I always joke as captain - I hope I won't bowl late in the tournament either. But yeah, I'll progress that slowly over the next 10-12 days,” he said.
Shoriful Islam doubtful for Bangladesh’s opening match vs Sri Lanka
Bangladesh has received a massive blow ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 as their star pacer Shoriful Islam suffered an injury during the side’s warm-up match against India on Saturday, June 1. Islam received six stitches between his palm and index finger and remains doubtful of taking the field in Bangladesh’s opening fixture of the T20 World Cup 2024.
AB de Villiers shuts down trollers making fun of Babar Azam’s English
During the live conversation with AB de Villiers, one of the trollers tried to poke fun at Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam’s English. The fan wrote, “ABD hardly control his laughing. Babar Azam speaking in English”, which was followed by a few tears of joy emojis. De Villiers shut the troller with fiery response as he said, “His English is infinitely better than my Urdu. And his batting is excellent.”
Venkatesh Iyer ties knot with Shruti Raghunathan; pictures go viral
Kolkata Knight Riders’ star Venkatesh Iyer exchanged marital vows and tied the knot with Shruti Raghunathan on Sunday, June 2. Venkatesh and Shruti’s wedding ceremony was graced by their respective family members and friends. The couple had got engaged in November 2023. The pictures of the couple’s wedding ceremony started going viral on social media, and wishes poured in for the newly-weds from fans across the world.
Ajinkya Rahane to feature for Leicestershire in county season: Reports
According to latest reports, Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane has been roped in by Leicestershire for the ongoing county season. The stint with Leicestershire in their County Championship Division Two campaign for 2024 would be Rahane's second in England's premier red-ball competition, having previously represented Hampshire in 2019 in a season which saw him score 307 runs in 13 innings.