Women’s World Cup 2024: Sophie Ecclestone© Twitter

The Indian team is all set to make a return to playing in the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament, scheduled to take place from November 1 to 3 this year. The tournament began in 1992 and was last held in 2017 before being revived this year. “Team India is gearing up to smash it out of the park at HK6! Prepare for explosive power-hitting and a storm of sixes that will electrify the crowd! Expect More Teams, More Sixes, More Excitement, and MAXIMUM THRILLS! HK6 is back from 1st to 3rd November 2024! Don’t miss out!,” wrote Cricket Hong Kong on its ‘X’ account on Monday.

The 20th edition of the tournament, to be played between 12 teams, will be held at the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground. Other participating teams include Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Hong Kong, Nepal, New Zealand, Oman, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The competition has previously witnessed various legends of the game like Brain Lara, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar, M.S. Dhoni, and Anil Kumble featuring for their respective teams. India had won the tournament in 2005, while England and South Africa are the most successful teams with five titles each.

Other previous winners of the competition include Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and the West Indies. The tournament’s format is unique as matches are played between two teams of six players. Each game consists of a maximum of five overs for each side.

But the title clash will see each team bowl five overs comprising of eight balls, up from the six deliveries in normal matches. Barring the wicket-keeper, every member of the fielding side will have to bowl one over, while wides and no-balls will count as two runs. Batsmen are forced to retire at 31 but can come back in once all other batsmen have been dismissed or have retired.

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali lauded young Indian pace sensation Mayank Yadav on his international debut and expressed hope that he travels to Australia for the five-Test match Border-Gavaskar Series starting from November 22 in Perth. The new-look India boosted by debuts of tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy secured a dominant seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first of the three T20Is at Gwalior on Sunday, with Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Hardik Pandya delivering best performances.

Mayank first made waves during this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), taking seven wickets in four games in an injury-affected season with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). During these matches, Mayank hit the 140-150 kmph speed consistently, getting big wickets of the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Glenn Maxwell. The bowler managed to create excitement around him, leading fans to anticipate his spells and return from injury.

The 22-year-old finally made his much-awaited debut in Indian colours in Gwalior. In four overs, he took one wicket for 21 runs at an economy rate of 5.20. Mayank did set the speed guns on fire with some of his deliveries. In his full four-over spell, Mayank did not hit 150 kph mark, but hit the 140 kmph mark consistently in 17 out of the 24 balls he bowled. His average pace of 138.7 kph was due to some slower balls, as per Wisden.

Speaking on his Youtube Channel, Basit said, “It was a dream debut for Mayank Yadav. He started off with a maiden and even clocked 149.9 kmph. He has come from an injury, which is why his speeds have not been 157 or 158. Just imagine if he had been given the new ball instead of Hardik Pandya. He instilled fear. If you guys saw the match, batters did not play him on the front foot. I hope that he remains fit and goes to Australia.”

Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (27 runs from 25 balls, 1 four and 1 six) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (35* runs from 32 balls, 3 fours) were the top scorers for the visitors, injecting a small bit of life in an otherwise struggling innings. Bangladesh was bundled out for 127 runs in 19.5 overs.

Arshdeep Singh (3/14) was the pick of the bowlers for India. Varun Chakravarthy bagged three wickets for 31 runs on his return to the side after 2021. Pace sensation Mayank Yadav, Washington Sundar and Hardik got a scalp each.

During the chase of 128 runs, Abhishek Sharma (16 in seven balls) was run out due to a miscommunication. However, Sanju Samson (29 in 19 balls with six fours) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (29 in 14 balls, with two fours and three sixes) stitched a 40-wicket stand for the second wicket. Then, it was Hardik who sealed the win for India, putting up a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket with debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (16* in 15 balls, with a six).

Bangladesh failed to rise with the ball in the second inning and could only pick up two wickets. Mustafizur Rahman and Mehidy were the only wicket-takers for the visitors.

Arshdeep was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his fine spell which also included the key wicket of Litton Das. India is up 1-0 in the three-match series.