T20 World Cup 2021: The "memorable moment" when MS Dhoni caught up with Chris Gayle
The T20 World Cup 2021 got underway on Sunday, with teams directly involved in the Super 12 stage playing warm-up matches on Monday. While Pakistan took on the West Indies in Dubai, India faced England at the same venue later in the day.
The occasion also afforded some catch-up time between players, former stars and support staff.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to social media after the matches were over to share pictures of MS Dhoni chatting with Chris Gayle. They captioned the snaps:
"Two legends. One memorable moment. When @msdhoni & @henrygayle caught up. #TeamIndia #T20WorldCup"
Two legends 🙌
One memorable moment 👏
When @msdhoni & @henrygayle caught up. 👍 👍
#TeamIndia #T20WorldCup https://t.co/mBOyJ3oe2K
While Gayle is set to play for the West Indies in the marquee tournament, MS Dhoni is with the Indian team as their mentor.
West Indies Cricket also shared a series of pictures on Twitter featuring Dhoni, his Chennai Super Kings teammate Dwayne Bravo, Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran, Gayle and former South African pacer Dale Steyn.
Another picture shared by Windies Cricket also featured India coach Ravi Shastri with Pakistan batting coach Matthew Hayden and West Indies coach Phil Simmons. The collage was captioned:
"Nothing but good vibes & smiles in Dubai."
Nothing but good vibes & smiles in Dubai.❤😁 #MissionMaroon #T20WorldCup #WestIndies https://t.co/6LoEMAifa1
What happened in the T20 World Cup warm-up matches?
Impressive batting performance 👌
Fine bowling display 👍
#TeamIndia beat England & win their first warm-up game. 👏 👏
#INDvENG #T20WorldCup
📸: Getty Images https://t.co/jIBgYFqOjz
The first set of warm-up matches ahead of the T20 World Cup saw Pakistan beat the West Indies by seven wickets. While Babar Azam hit a half-century, Fakhar Zaman also starred with a 24-ball 46 as Pakistan chased down 131 with relative ease.
In Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, South Africa beat Afghanistan by 41 runs. Aiden Markram scored 48(35) as the Proteas posted 145/5 on the board. Tabraiz Shamsi then claimed three scalps and Lungi Ngidi took two as the Afghans were restricted to just 104/8.
In another T20 World Cup warm-up game in Dubai, India beat England in a high-scoring match. A 49 from Jonny Bairstow and a 20-ball 43 from Moeen Ali saw England set India a 189-run target, which they chased down with an over to spare.
KL Rahul was in delectable form, smashing 51 off 24, while Ishan Kishan retired not out after scoring 70 off 46 deliveries. Rishabh Pant helped finish the chase for India with his 14-ball 29.
In Abu Dhabi, New Zealand scored158/7 against Australia, but the latter managed to chase it down in the penultimate delivery with three wickets to spare.
The next round of T20 World Cup warm-up matches will be played on Wednesday.
The Super 12 stage will begin on Saturday, with England taking on the West Indies. India will play their first match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium.