Cricket World Cup news

It may not have been the neutral’s thriller, but it was everything India wanted. They were the first men’s team to retain the T20 World Cup and the first side to win it on home soil, drowning New Zealand in a flood of runs before 100,000 ecstatic and almost entirely blue‑tunic’d fans. New Zealand appeared dispirited while giving up 255 and miserable in trying to get it, and after taking a wander through the majority of their innings with defeat already an inevitability

Cricket’s T20 World Cup starts Saturday under a bitter‑sour build-up marred by political turmoil, Bangladesh flung out and Pakistan refusing to play arch-rivals and co-hosts India. Ultimately, Pakistan will play the first ball of the tournament with a very disorderly lead-in when they take on Netherlands in Colombo in the opener. Holders and pre-tournament favourites India will open the tournament in the night match on day one against the United States in Mumbai with a nation of more than a billion cricket followers looking to them