Eng vs Ind: आज हारते ही ICC रैंकिंग में खत्म हो जाएगी भारत की बादशाहत…

England vs India 5th T20I: भारत और इंग्‍लैंड के बीच जारी पांच मैचों की टी20 इंटरनेशनल सीरीज का 5वां और आखिरी मुकाबला शनिवार 11 जुलाई को साउथेम्प्टन के द रोज बाउल ग्राउंड में खेला जाएगा। श्रेयस अय्यर की अगुवाई वाली भारतीय टीम इस मैच को जीतकर सम्‍मान बचाने के इरादे से उतरेगी। वहीं, मेजबान इंग्लिश टीम की नजर 4-0 से क्‍लीन स्‍पीप करने पर होगी। अगर, वह ऐसा करने में सफल रहती है, तो भारत के लिए ये दोहरा झटका होगी। इस हार के साथ ही वह आईसीसी टी20 रैंकिंग में शीर्ष स्‍थान गंवा देगी।

Auckland (New Zealand), July 11 (ANI): New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon highlighted cricket’s enduring role in strengthening ties between India and New Zealand, while underlining the significance of the newly agreed Sports Joint Action Plan between the two countries. truewildslot.com

Speaking at the ‘Gala Lunch’ event hosted by the Kiwi Prime Minister in honour of his Indian counterpart, PM Modi, in Auckland, PM Luxon reflected on his experience of playing gully cricket with children from the STAIRS Foundation during his official visit to India in March last year.

“Cricket will always be a special connection, and New Zealanders know the passion India brings to the game. I experienced this passion firsthand while playing street cricket in Delhi with the children from STAIRS Foundation. My team included the great Indian Kapil Dev, and we were playing against the New Zealanders, who included Ajaz Patel and Ross Taylor. During that match, I joked with Ross Taylor about the possibility of the great Ross Taylor being bowled out by a 13-year-old. Lo and behold, on the very next ball, he was bowled out by an 11-year-old Indian bowling at 110 kilometres an hour. It once again demonstrated to me the passion that defines our rivalry in cricket," Luxon said.

Emphasising the importance of sporting collaboration beyond the cricket field, the New Zealand Prime Minister added, “The sports joint action plan we have agreed upon this morning is so important because it will strengthen our connections in coaching, youth sport, women’s and girls’ sports, high performance sports, science, technology, tourism and business. It transforms our shared passion into a much deeper cooperation."

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Luxon’s remarks came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Auckland on the final leg of his six-day tour of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. The Kiwi Prime Minister hosted a Gala Lunch in honour of PM Modi, who arrived in Auckland on Friday at Luxon’s invitation.

The visit marks the first by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in 40 years and follows the signing of the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement earlier this year, a development both leaders believe will accelerate trade and bilateral cooperation.

Earlier during delegation-level talks, PM Modi described the visit as a milestone in bilateral relations and thanked the New Zealand government for its warm hospitality.

“It gives me great pleasure that an Indian Prime Minister has visited New Zealand after 40 years. By organising an event in your economic capital, you have created an opportunity to infuse new strength into the relationship between India and New Zealand. I am deeply grateful," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister also received a traditional Maori powhiri ceremonial welcome at Government House in Auckland, later describing the ceremony as a moving reflection of New Zealand’s rich cultural heritage.

The renewed focus on sports cooperation is expected to complement the broader partnership between the two countries, with both sides seeking to expand collaboration across grassroots development, elite performance, sports science, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. (ANI)

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India cricket team have one final chance to avoid a complete whitewash as they take on England in the ENG vs IND 5th T20I in Southampton on Saturday. The defending champions have remained winless after lifting their 3rd T20 World Cup, having first lost 0-2 to Ireland followed by three consecutive losses to the Three Lions. Shreyas Iyer, who is yet to secure his first win as the captain, will be forced to make more than just one change to the playing XI for the must-win tie.

After all, the Indian team has admitted on various occasions that they have failed to adapt to the conditions in the UK. Technical flaws, tactical blunders, failure to read the conditions correctly and play accordingly have boggled India in this series, highlighting a major problem for the side ahead of the T20 World Cup 2028 in Australia where they will be playing on similar tracks and conditions.

Predicted India playing XI for ENG vs IND 5th T20I

Sanju Samson returns, Sooryavanshi out

After three back-to-back defeats, India might be compelled to bring back Sanju Samson into the playing XI for the ENG vs IND 5th T20I. The T20 World Cup 2026 Player of the Tournament was dropped after failing to fire in three consective games and was replaced by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the line-up. However, the 15-year-old did not produce results as expected despite showing promising signs.

The excessive presence of left-handers in the XI might force the Indian team management to bring Sanju back into the fold. This will allow the team to strike a left-right hand balance at the top of the order, something that has worked for India in the past. Samson, who has scored 5, 0 and 1 in his last three outings, may be presented with one last chace to redeem himself before the Asian Games 2026, in a bid to cement his spot as an opener.

To bench Sooryavanshi would be an unfair call. However, the past three games have shown that the 15-year-old needs more experience playing in the senior side and in conditions that the surfaces in the UK have presented in order to become better. 14, 13 and 15 are his scores in the last three games, indicating that while he has the ability to give a good start, the England bowlers – especially Jofra Archer – seems to have found a hack to make the 15-year-old his bunny.

Short ball struggles ft. Ishan Kishan, other batters

The Indian batters have quite literally struggled against short deliveries from seamers in the ENG vs IND series. While they have scored 171 runs from 118 short-pitched deliveries, they have lost 11 wickets, averaging 15.54 at a strike rate of 144.9. From young Sooryavanshi to experienced candidates like Ishan Kishan, most batters have struggled to deal with this menace. The ENG vs IND 5th T20I presents one last chance for Kishan to make amends to his technique to deal with the short balls.

Sooryavanshi can only play at the top of the order. Therefore, in order to accomodate Samson, he must be dropped. After all, the decision to expose him to England in his very first T20I series has been questioned by experts. Another option could be to play Samson at number 3 – a position where he has scored the most number of runs in T20s. However, continuing with Kishan at number 3 will keep the left-right balance intact.

Pressure on Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma will be the most pressurized batter in the Indian XI. In the four games that he has played in the ENG vs IND T20I series, he has only managed to score 51 runs at a miserable strike rate of 118.60 and averaging just 17 (13, 24*, 3 and 11). These numbers certainly do not warrant for a spot in the line-up, and certainly are not the numbers that a finisher will want against his name.

Dropping Tilak is hard, as he is the vice-captain for the Indian team. However, time might be running out of his hands as well. The batter will have to return to scoring runs in the ENG vs IND 5h T20I else face the risk of being shown the door in the future.

Bowling blues

The bowlers have let down the Indian team multiple times in this series and captain Shreyas Iyer has made no attempts to hide it. Ravi Bishnoi was thrown under the bus for conceding 60 runs in the 2nd T20I that allowed England to snatch the win. In the previous game, Iyer blamed the bowlers for not executing their plans to the T as India lost by 9 wickets. To make matters worse, India have lost Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy to injuries.

India are expected to field Arshdeep Singh and Prince Yadav in the pace department, with Shivam Dube expected to play the third fiddle. Given Gautam Gambhir’s obsession with all-rounders, Washington Sundar could replace Rana in the XI while Suryansh Shedge is likely to get a game in place of Axar Patel. With Chakravarty being ruled out, India might have no option but to bring back Bishnoi into the playing XI. And, it also remains to be seen how Sundar will be used with the ball.

The post ENG vs IND 5th T20I: Time for Sanju Samson to return, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to sit out with India’s no.1 spot in danger appeared first on Inside Sport India.

Auckland [New Zealand], July 11 (ANI): Marking the centenary of sporting relations between India and New Zealand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that the newly launched India-New Zealand Joint Action Plan on Sport will aggressively expand athletic cooperation far beyond cricket, using rugby and hockey as premier anchors.

Addressing the ‘Gala Lunch’ hosted in his honour by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Auckland, PM Modi highlighted that the modern sporting partnership between the two nations is rooted in a century-old historical milestone established by hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand. Following the lunch, PM Modi and Prime Minister Luxon attended a high-profile sports event together in Auckland.

“This year, we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of sports relations between the two countries. One hundred years ago, a hockey team led by Major Dhyan Chand created history by coming here, which continues to inspire our sports partnership today. On this occasion, we are organising several sports events in both countries," PM Modi said during his address on the final leg of his multi-nation tour.

Emphasising the strategic diversification of sports diplomacy, the Prime Minister noted that tactical groundwork has already commenced to build grassroot capacities in alternative global sports, specifically citing rugby.

“To increase cooperation in other sports along with cricket, we have created a Sports Joint Action Plan. A good start has been made recently with a coaching program by New Zealand Rugby and Rugby India in Bhubaneswar," he added.

Drawing a creative parallel between high-performance sports teamwork and bilateral statecraft, PM Modi thanked Prime Minister Luxon for the warm state hospitality, noting that mutual trust remains the definitive driver of their newly elevated Strategic Partnership.

“Prime Minister Luxon, I thank you for your friendship, your commitment, and for making my New Zealand journey memorable. Just as teamwork and trust are necessary in rugby, we too will move forward with mutual trust. We are on the same team, so we will tackle only the challenges. Thank you very much," the PM told the gathering.

The newly signed Sports Joint Action Plan sets up a formal, practical architecture to strengthen bilateral athletic links across high-performance training paradigms, coaching, sports science, sports analytics, business-to-business sports models, and structured exchanges between national sports federations.

This sports matrix has already showcased operational results. In May, Rugby India and New Zealand Rugby collaborated to run an extensive, high-performance coaching clinic at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar under a broader inter-governmental memorandum. The two-day program saw elite coaches from New Zealand train 34 Indian coaches across foundation, development, and high-performance pathways.

Reflecting this momentum, the India-New Zealand Joint Statement noted: “The Prime Ministers welcomed celebrations to mark 100 Years of Unity Through Sport in 2026. They further welcomed the India-New Zealand Joint Action Plan on Sport, which provides a practical framework to strengthen bilateral sporting ties, including through high performance sport, coaching, sport science, participation, sport business, and exchanges between national sporting organisations."

The historic visit–the first by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in 40 years–coincides with a massive structural upgrade in bilateral ties, building upon the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluded earlier this year to unlock deep mutual values across trade, maritime security, education, and people-to-people bridges. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)