England ‘not fearing anything’ against India, says Curran – Sport

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2 minutes ago

March 3, 2026

England will go into their T20 World Cup semi-final against India with no fear, said all-rounder Sam Curran on Tuesday, adding that their first job would be to silence a raucous home crowd.

England will take on the favourites and hosts in front of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai on Thursday, with a place in the final against South Africa or New Zealand at stake.

The noise will be deafening at times in the cauldron-like confines of the Wankhede Stadium.

But Curran said that because he and many of his England teammates — such as Will Jacks at the Mumbai Indians — play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), they will not be fazed.

“It’s an experience as a young cricketer you dream of — playing India in the semi-final of a World Cup,” left-arm seamer Curran told reporters.

Curran was in the international wilderness a year ago but forced his way back into the England squad with eye-catching performances in T20 franchise leagues, including the IPL.

“India are a quality side but we’ve played a lot of cricket here. We know how to play on these grounds and we know what to expect,” he said.

“The IPL, no question, has helped a lot. Having played in the ground many times, there aren’t many unknowns.”

England experienced a hostile crowd at the Wankhede in their first match of the tournament when they beat Nepal in a final-ball thriller.

It was Curran who bowled the nerveless final “death” over, conceding just five runs when Nepal needed 10, to stave off an embarrassing defeat.

He then repeated the feat against Italy and has contributed with the bat from number six, scoring 149 runs so far with a best of 43 not out.

“We’re not fearing anything and I’m sure both teams are really excited by the challenge,” Curran said, adding England could judge how well they were playing by the volume of the fans.

“If the crowd are silent, England are probably going to be doing well. That’s our positive way of looking at it,” said Curran.

It is the third T20 World Cup in a row that England will have played India in the semi-finals and each time the winners have gone on to lift the trophy.

In 2022, England crushed India by 10 wickets in Adelaide and went on to beat Pakistan in the Melbourne final.

Two years ago, India won in Guyana by a similarly dominant 68 runs before downing South Africa in Barbados.

South Africa face New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday. The final will take place on Sunday in Ahmedabad.

“I guess this is what the last four or five weeks have been building for,” said Curran.

“And hopefully we can take one more step towards the final.”

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South Africa, India eye T20 World Cup rematch as semi-finals begin – Sport

Published

1 hour ago

March 3, 2026

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Unbeaten South Africa continue their quest for a maiden World Cup title in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup against New Zealand in Kolkata on Wednesday, with a potential repeat of the 2024 final against India awaiting.

Should Aiden Markram’s side inflict their second defeat of the tournament on New Zealand — they beat them comfortably in the group stage — then a rematch against India for the trophy could be on the cards.

Suryakumar Yadav’s defending champions will first have to get past Harry Brook’s England in Mumbai on Thursday — a blockbuster clash that is being talked about excitedly across the cricket-mad city.

But South Africa are unbeaten and are a team on the up after decades of gaining a reputation for “choking” on the big stage.

They finally won their first global cricket trophy when they lifted the World Test Championship last year, and eight members of that side are in the T20 World Cup squad.

South Africa have been strong in all departments and appear to have the form to break their white-ball duck after their agonising final defeat to India two years ago.

Chasing 177 in Barbados, South Africa had one hand on the trophy with 26 needed from the last four overs with six wickets in hand.

But a dramatic mini-collapse saw them finish on 169-8 as India won by seven runs.

Markram has led from the front, scoring 86 not out in a seven-wicket romp past semi-final opponents New Zealand in the group phase, easily chasing 176 with 17 balls to spare.

South Africa are the only team to have won all seven of their matches so far.

While they topped their Super Eight table, beating India and the West Indies en route, Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand lost to England and had to rely on run rate to squeeze ahead of Pakistan and into the final four.

England won all three of their Super Eight matches and appear ominously to be growing into the tournament.

Captain Brook has begun to stamp his authority on the side, moving up to bat at number three and scoring a sparkling century to lead a successful chase of 165 against Pakistan.

England played two of their group games in Mumbai, so will be familiar with the conditions, despite having all their Super Eight matches on turning tracks in Sri Lanka.

India played their first match of the tournament at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium when they were in deep trouble at 77-6 against the USA until Suryakumar’s 84 dragged them to a winning total.

They not only have the expectations of 35,000 cricket-obsessed fans in a packed Wankhede stadium, and hundreds of millions more watching on TV to withstand, but also the weight of history.

India, the world’s top-ranked T20 team, are attempting to become the first to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to lift the trophy on home soil.

After losing against South Africa in the first match of the Super Eights, India have played their best cricket with their backs to the wall.

In must-win games they blasted 256 against Zimbabwe, then chased 196 against the West Indies on Sunday on the back of Sanju Samson’s 97 not out.

South Africa are hot favourites to be the first team into Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad, but England will be out to break a billion Indian hearts.

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Sialkot Stallionz officially change name to Multan Sultans under new management – Sport

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6 hours ago

March 3, 2026

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The Sialkot Stallionz have officially changed their name to the Multan Sultans, Pakistan Super League (PSL) CEO Salman Naseer announced on Tuesday.

In a press conference, Naseer said that the group’s name change request, put forward by the team’s new CEO, Gohar Shah, had been officially accepted.

According to him, the name change request was Shah’s first act as CEO of the franchise, as the name ‘Multan Sultans’ had not previously been available.

“You saw him (Shah) amongst other bidders at the team auction for the Multan Sultans,” the PSL CEO said. “There was a lot of desire, passion, and I think Gohar was the most disappointed when he couldn’t get the team.”

The PSL CEO added that the option to change team names had been kept in all auction processes, including the ability to request a name that was not one of the six provided.

“At the time, I think Multan was not available, so he chose Sialkot,” Naseer said, adding that as soon as Shah came in as CEO of the franchise, he had applied for a name change, discussing the terms and conditions as well as the one-time licence fee required.

Additionally, Naseer announced that the per annum franchise fees for the team had been increased from Rs1.85bn to Rs2bn.

Gohar Shah, who was also present at the press conference and invited to speak, expressed his happiness that “south Punjab’s representation is back in the league”.

“We were wondering: how will a stallion defeat the HBL PSL alone?” he quipped. “A stallion needs a sultan.”

OZ Developers put forward a massive Rs1.85bn bid to win Sialkot at the PSL auction in January, the highest ever bid for a PSL franchise.

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