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www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 22 SPORTS June 6, 2025 Cricket-England Get On Their Bikes As Windies Sit In Traffic Jam E ngland’s players rode hire bikes to get to the ground for the third one-day international against West Indies as their opponents got snarled up in London traffic to force a 30-minute delay to the start at The Oval on Tuesday. With theWest Indies team stuck on their bus, Eng- land’s players were seen riding electrically-assisted Lime Bikes well ahead of the scheduled 1300 start time to the amusement of fans waiting to get in. They were warming up on the outfield when the delay was announced to the crowd on a murky day in the capital. “Due to a delayed arrival of one of the playing teams, who are stuck in heavy traffic north of the river, the scheduled start of play will be delayed,” an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement said. “Once all members of the playing teams arrive, the match officials will coordinate updated timings and dis- cuss any impact on the schedule of play.” Play eventually began at 1330 with England looking to wrap up a 3-0 series win after victories at Edgbaston and Cardiff. Traffic light failures and road closures near Vauxhall Bridge had caused the chaos, with England captain Harry Brook saying they had decided to take matters into their own hands. “We were on the bus for a while, then we all decided to get off and get some Lime bikes in,” captain Harry Brook said after winning the toss and opting to bowl. “We were in a little bit earlier than theWest Indies boys, but we’re here now and ready to go.” TheWest Indies team were staying at nearby Chelsea Harbour, around three miles away. “We probably should have walked,” captain Shai Hope said. -Reuters Cricket-Asia Cup In Limbo After India-Pakistan Clashes T his year’s Asia Cup hangs in the balance follow- ing the recent clashes between tournament hosts India and arch-rivals Pakistan. Already-soured relations between the nuclear- armed neighbors further worsened after four days of intense fighting before a ceasefire was announced last month. India are scheduled to host the Asia Cup, a flagship event of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), in September but uncertainty lingers over the T20 tournament. “To be honest, we have had no discussions within the board about the Asia Cup,” a top official of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) told Reuters on Tuesday, refusing to confirm whether the tournament will go ahead as scheduled. “We have been busy with the Indian Premier League and then we have India’s tour of England. These are our immediate concerns,” he added. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was not forthcoming about its team’s participation in the tournament in India either. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it,” the PCB told Reuters in a statement. ACC president Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the PCB, was not available to comment. The ACC on Monday announced the postponement of the women’s Emerging Asia Cup, which was due to begin on Friday, citing weather conditions and the spread of the viral disease chikungunya in host nation Sri Lanka. India will host the women’s 50-oversWorld this year but Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka under an arrangement made by the International Cricket Coun- cil. India refused to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy this year and played all their matches, including the March 9 final, in Dubai. Bilateral cricket has been suspended since 2013 be- tween the Asian neighbors, who play each other only in multi-team events. India head coach Gautam Gambhir is against playing Pakistan even in neutral venues but will follow whatever the BCCI decided, he said last month. -Reuters By Amlan Chakraborty PHOTO:@icc-cricket.com PHOTO: Action Imagesvia Reuters/Paul Childs PHOTO: Action Imagesvia Reuters/Paul Childs Members of India and Pakistan team. Cricket – Third One Day International – England v West Indies – Kia Oval, London, Britain – June 3, 2025 England’s Harry Brook, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts arrive on bicycles before the match Cricket – Third One Day International – England v West Indies – Kia Oval, London, Britain – June 3, 2025 West Indies’ Shai Hope walks back to the pavilion after getting dismissed by England’s Saqib Mahmood, catch taken by Brydon Carse Cricket-Kohli Closes In On Long-Awaited IPL Title V irat Kohli’s trophy cabinet is chock full of awards from his international career but the batsman can end the long wait to win the In- dian Premier League (IPL) title when his Royal Challengers Bengaluru play Punjab Kings in Tuesday’s final. The 36-year-old has been with Bengaluru since the inaugural edition of the league in 2008, including nine seasons as captain of a franchise that made the finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016 but lost every time. They have looked a different side altogether under Rajat Patidar this season though, winning all seven away games in the group stage and crushing Punjab in the first qualifier. Veteran Kohli is their leading scorer in the tourna- ment but while Bengaluru have been criticised in the past for ignoring team balance and packing the side with marquee players they have finally clicked as a team this season. “It’s a better balanced side, far better balanced side,” former Australia player TomMoody, who has coached Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, told ES- PNcricinfo website. “It’s not top heavy. There’s opportunities for other players to have an impact in the game, whereas previ- ously, you look at RCB and it was always the top three and then you’re concerned about what follows that.” Bengaluru were reinforced by Josh Hazlewood’s re- turn from a shoulder injury ahead of the playoff and he had an immediate impact as they dismantled Punjab for 101 on Thursday. -Reuters By Amlan Chakraborty