Six Indians in ICC Team of the Tournament; no spot for Kohli despite match-winning final knock
Dubai (PTI): The International Cricket Council has picked six Indians in its 'Team of the Tournament' for the just-concluded T20 World Cup but there was no place for star batter Virat Kohli, who played a match-winning knock in the final against South Africa.
In his new role as an opener, Kohli had an underwhelming World Cup before rising to the occasion in the big final where he was adjudged man-of-the-match for his 59-ball 76.
India pipped South Africa by seven runs in a sensational comeback in the death overs to win their second T20 World Cup title after 17 years.
The ICC XI featured Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and two pacers in Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
Rohit led from the front with 257 runs at a splendid strike-rate of 156.7 to his name. He was the second most leading run-getter after Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
The Player of the Tournament and India's trump card in their title win, Bumrah returned with 15 wickets.
But more than his wickets, his impact in restricting the scoring rate of teams made Bumrah India's most important player right through the tournament.
His economy rate of 4.17 was the best ever by any bowler in a single edition of the men's T20 World Cup.
Following their historic semifinal finish, Afghanistan found three players in the ICC team, including left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi, who topped the wicket-takers chart jointly with Arshdeep (17 wickets each).
Wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who topped the runs scorers' list with 281 runs as an opener for Afghanistan, also found a place alongside skipper Rashid Khan.
The crafty leg-spinner brilliantly led Afghanistan in their historic run and returned with 14 wickets with a tidy economy of 6.17.
Marcus Stoinis of Australia and Nicholas Pooran of the tournament co-hosts West Indies completed the XI.
Runners-up South Africa did not find a player in the XI and pacer Anrich Nortje was named the 12th man.
Nortje began the tournament with a brilliant 4/7 against Sri Lanka and took at least one wicket in all but one match.
In the final, he was the pick of South Africa's bowlers with figures of 2/26 from his four overs.
ICC Team of The Tournament
Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh (all Indians); Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan); Marcus Stoinis (Australia) and Nicholas Pooran (West Indies); 12th man: Anrich Nortje.
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Another bridge collapses in Bihar's Siwan district, seventh such incident in 15 days
Siwan (Bihar) (PTI): In a troubling trend for Bihar, a portion of a bridge over Gandaki river in Siwan district collapsed on Wednesday morning, marking the seventh such incident in the state within the past 15 days.
The small bridge, situated in the district's Deoria block, connects several villages with Mahrajganj.
No casualties have been reported so far. This is the second incident of bridge collapse in Siwan in the last 11 days.
Deputy Development Commissioner Mukesh Kumar said the exact cause is under investigation. Senior officials from the block have already reached the site, he added.
"A portion of a bridge in Deoria block collapsed this morning. The exact cause is not known so far. Senior officials of the block have reached the spot and I am also going there," he added.
"The incident took place around 5 am. As per initial information, the bridge was constructed in 1982-83. Repair work was going on the bridge for the last few days," Kumar added.
Villagers suggested that heavy rainfall over the preceding days may have contributed to the collapse, with a surge in Gandaki river potentially weakening the bridge's structure.
This incident follows another bridge collapse in Siwan just 11 days ago, underscoring growing concerns over the state of infrastructure in Bihar. On June 22, a portion of a bridge collapsed in Darounda area.
Similar incidents have been reported in districts like Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran, and Kishanganj recently, prompting the Bihar government to set up a high-level committee to investigate these occurrences.
