Kohli asked to promote company, Cricket in Asian Games and more - Cricket News Today, 22 September 2018

Thanks to some brilliant bowling from Jasprit Bumrah, India restricted Pakistan for just 237/7 in their 50 overs in their second Super Four game. Shoaib Malik scored a sublime 78 and shared a 107-run stand with Sarfaraz Ahmed, who scored 44, for the fourth wicket.

Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 2/29 in his 10 overs while spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav picked up two wickets each conceding 46 and 41 runs respectively. In the other Super Four match in Abu Dhabi, Bangladesh scored 249/7 in their 50 overs. Mahmudullah was the top-scorer with 74 while Imrul Kayes remained unbeaten on 72. Aftab Alam was the pick of the Afghanistan bowlers as he finished with figures of 3/54.

Apart from these, there are a lot of things that happened in the world of cricket in the last 24 hours.

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Cricket at 2026 Asian games?

Head of Global Development for the International Cricket Council (ICC), William Glenwright, has hinted at the possibility of cricket being introduced in the 2026 Asian Games.

Glenwright posted, “An interesting few days with @CricketJapan and jslivesey in Nagoya meeting with Aichi Prefecture to discuss cricket’s inclusion in the 2026 Asia Games and JCA’s cricket towns Program. Next stop: Sano.”

Inquiries have revealed that the ICC official has initiated talks with the authorities in Japan which will host the 20th Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya in 2026. The 2022 edition will be in Hangzhou in China and there is no cricket there.

ONGC sends a notice to its employers

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Five

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has asked the Indian sportspersons who are employed by them to aggressively promote the brand whenever they get a chance. As many as 179 elite sportspersons are employed by ONGC which includes Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli.

This comes after the brand has been rarely visible in the events in which the sportspersons take part as their private sponsors are preferred over their employers. According to an important clause in their sports policy, all the 179 sportspersons were asked to prominently display the ONGC logo on their clothing and talk about them during their public appearances.

"Virat Kohli is our employee, so is Ishant Sharma. We have many sportspersons who won medals at the Asian Games but our brand doesn’t get promoted. If they are playing for the country, then the country has to be first, but ONGC is doing so much for them. So, whenever they get a chance, like when they give TV bites or give interviews they should talk about ONGC. We held a few meetings with the players in this regard and sensitised them about this issue," ONGC Group GM (HR) Manoj Bhartwal told The Sunday Express.

Vijay Hazare round-up

ECB XI v India A - Tour Match

Prithvi Shaw continued his fine form as he registered his second hundred in three matches in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. Prithvi's 129 runs off 81 balls along with Shreyas Iyer's 118-ball 144 helped Mumbai score 400/5. In return, Railways were bundled out for just 223. giving Mumbai a 173-run win.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu sneaked home by one wicket against Rajasthan in a thriller. Spinners helped TN restrict Rajasthan for just 133. In reply, TN kept losing wickets regularly but B Anirudh's 40 and M Mohammed's unbeaten 22 took them to a narrow win.