Sports News: Cricket Controversies and Sporting Achievements: World Cup Drama, India's T20 Squad, and Euro 2024 Draw

The thrilling win of Afghanistan over Bangladesh in the 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 stage closed out Australia's pursuit of history, seeking the treble. It was after defeating Bangladesh that Australia was first stunned by Afghanistan, and then lost to India, in which Rohit Sharma's explosive 92 off 41 set a mammoth score. Ex-spinner Brad Hogg pointed toward the poor Australian preparation, particularly with Mitchell Starc's bowling adjustments, and poor fielding, such as misfielding or missing catches. Hogg also felt that Australia showed disrespect towards Afghanistan and that was their downfall in failing to progress beyond the group stages.

Afghanistan created history and booked a berth in their maiden T20 World Cup semifinal, defeating Bangladesh by 8 runs at the Arnos Vale Ground. Defending a modest 115, Rashid Khan claimed 4 for 23, fighting off rain delays and the threat of a revised target as Bangladesh were bowled out for 105. Naveen ul Haq sealed the victory, collecting the last two wickets off successive deliveries. This result, coupled with India's win over Australia, sent both the Aussies and Bangladesh out of the competition. Afghanistan will play South Africa in the first semi-final in Trinidad.

The India T20I squad for the five-match series against Zimbabwe will leave on July 1. The 15-member squad will meet at Mumbai as the High-Performance Camp at NCA, Bengaluru, comes to an end. While some players have headed out for the ongoing first division league in Chennai, others head home. Shubman Gill, the captain, will link up directly in Zimbabwe. The new batch of faces, which included two debutants in Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag, will feature in all five T20Is against the hosts in Harare.

India announced an 18-man squad for their July tour of Zimbabwe, which features a five-match T20I series. The youthful team will be led by Shubman Gill, with 30-year-old Mukesh Kumar the oldest member. Rest was granted to regulars who were gearing up for the T20 World Cup. Virender Sehwag hailed the decision to appoint Gill, seeing him as a future leader across formats. It was echoed by another former cricketer, Manoj Tiwary, who also advocated building a team around the captain. The series begins on July 6.

India cricketer Hanuma Vihari has decided to stay back with Andhra for the domestic season, thus revoking his earlier decision to shift to Madhya Pradesh. Though Vihari got a No Objection Certificate from the Andhra Cricket Association, he never submitted it to the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. This last-minute decision, due to the changing political scenario in Andhra, has left MPCA officials disappointed none more than coach Chandrakant Pandit himself, as Vihari had pulled out of a similar move last year; Pandit was in discussion with him for a leadership role.

Even though Virat Kohli has not been getting big scores and Ravindra Jadeja has made only modest contributions in the T20 World Cup with both bat and ball, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar puts his weight behind Jadeja's inclusion in the team. Gavaskar said that Jadeja brings a lot of experience to the field and saves runs, making meaningful contributions. Gavaskar took a dig at Indian fans, saying that they have this tendency of targeting players after a few below-par performances, citing Jadeja as a consistent performer who has an important place in the squad.

Denmark booked their place in the Euro 2024 knockout stages after the goalless draw with Serbia, confirming their second place in Group C by dint of better disciplinary record over Slovenia. They now await Germany, and England topped the group. Serbia tried hard and scored through Luka Jovic in the ending moments, only for him to have been ruled offside. They finished last in the group and bowed out of the tourney.

Kylian Mbappe marked his return from injury with a goal, netting a penalty, but Robert Lewandowski replied for Poland as France were held 1-1 in their Euro 2024 group stage final. The result, which is coupled with Austria's win over the Netherlands, left France in second place in Group D. Second in the group, they will now face the runners-up in Group E in the next round, having qualified but fallen well short of expectations. Level at 1-1, Poland restored some pride thanks to Lewandowski's penalty deep in added time following a retake. Their eliminations at the group stage had already been confirmed.