"Adil Rashid said Allah was with us": Morgan after England's World Cup glory
England won their maiden World Cup title with a win over New Zealand in the final at Lord's on Sunday. The World Cup-winning England team comprises players belonging to Pakistan, South Africa and Barbados. Captain Eoin Morgan, who is from Ireland, believes that both Irish luck and Allah were with the team during their nail-biting final against New Zealand. "I spoke to Adil (England leg-spinner Adil Rashid), he said Allah was definitely with us," Dublin-born Morgan said, when asked if England had enjoyed the famed luck of the Irish.
"It actually epitomises our team, quite diverse backgrounds and cultures," he added.
Morgan hopes his side's "incredible journey" to World Cup glory will inspire a new generation of fans in the sport's birthplace.
There have long been concerns about declining player numbers in English cricket, with the sport hidden behind a television paywall in Britain since England's iconic 2005 Ashes series triumph.
But Sunday's match at Lord's -- the first of the 12 World Cup finals to end in a tie and to be settled by a Super Over contest -- was on free-to-air television.
"I certainly hope participation levels go up or continue to rise," said Morgan, who has overseen England's climb from the depths of a miserable first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup.
Morgan, asked if the final would have resonated far beyond cricket's core audience, replied: "I hope so. Obviously today is a big day of sport with Wimbledon and the Silverstone GP going on.
"But with Sunday evening, people normally settle in for a bit of (naturalist) David Attenborough or some random film that's on, so I hope they were tuned into the cricket."
England, set 242 to win, were dismissed for 241, with Ben Stokes stranded on 84 not out after Mark Wood was run out off the last ball of regulation play.
They then made 15 in their additional Super Over, bowled by Trent Boult, before New Zealand matched that in their own Super Over, bowled by Jofra Archer.
But with Martin Guptill run out off the last ball of the match going for the winning run, England triumphed on boundary count during the match -- 26 to 17.
England had a moment of astonishing good fortune with a bonus four runs during their main innings when a Guptill throw deflected off the bat of Stokes, who was diving to make his ground.
courtesy: ndtv.com
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Decision on next Maharashtra CM to be taken 'in a day or two', says Shinde
New Delhi (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he had "good and positive" discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda on the issue of government formation in the state.
Speaking to reporters here before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde said the decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be taken "in a day or two" in another meeting of the Mahayuti coalition in the state capital.
Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, met Shah and Nadda late Thursday to thrash out a power-sharing pact for the next government in Maharashtra after the BJP-led coalition registered a thumping majority in the Assembly elections.
"We will take a decision (on Maharashtra CM) in a day or two. We have held discussions, and the discussions will continue. You will get to know when we take a final decision," the outgoing chief minister said.
Shinde said that he would not be an obstacle in the government formation in the state and abide by the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.
"This 'ladka bhau' (beloved brother) designation is higher than anything else for me," he said.
Shinde said the meeting with Shah and Nadda was "good and positive".
"We all discussed the formation of government. There is good coordination between the allies, we are all very positive and we will honour the clear-cut mandate given to us by the people. We will form the government soon," he said.
"The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti in Mumbai," Shinde told reporters early Friday.
The Shiv Sena leader said the people of Maharashtra have re-elected them with a thumping majority and respecting the mandate is the topmost priority, not "running after posts".
Recovering from its Lok Sabha elections losses, the BJP bagged 132 Assembly seats, the highest among all constituents of the Mahayuti alliance. Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP also performed well. Sena won 57 while NCP bagged 41 seats.
The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback with the grand old party registering one of its worst performances in the Assembly polls as it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP) won just 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20 seats.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held on November 20, and the results were declared on November 23.
