The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has claimed the final spot for next year's ICC Men’s T20 World Cup set to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. A total of 20 teams will participate as UAE joins India, Sri Lanka, Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa, USA, Ireland, Canada, Italy, Afghanistan Netherlands, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Nepal and Oman.
Mayank Kumar, the 28-year-old opening batter, finished off the match against Japan at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman with a massive six. Set a modest 117 for UAE to win after a sensational bowling performance, UAE needed only 12.1 overs to wipe away the target. Captain Muhammad Waseem set the tone with a 26-ball 42.
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Team India are the defending champions ahead of the upcoming edition
Meanwhile, Team India are the defending champions ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue, captained by Rohit Sharma, had had helped India break the ICC trophy drought that eluded them for 11 years. The final of the tournament took place against South Africa at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
India, who batted first, had put a competitive total of 176/7, spearheaded by Virat Kohli's 76, while Axar Patel (47) and Shivam Dube (27) also made notable contributions to the cause. The partnership of 72 was worth gold for the Men in Blue after the early losses of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant without troubling the scores by much.
In response, the Proteas were firmly in the contest and were close to winning it when they needed 30 off the last 30 deliveries. Nevertheless, the death-bowling masterclass from Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya multiplied the pressure on South Africa and India eventually won the nail-biter by six runs.
