Rain pain for Virat Kohli's men, India crash out of World T20 and more - Cricket News Today, 23rd November 2018

Both the Indian men and women's teams endured a tough day as rain and sluggish pitch proved to be their undoing in their respective assignments. While Virat Kohli's men were left frustrated by the persistent rain at Melbourne, Harmanpreet Kaur's women failed to adapt to a slow surface and succumbed to England in the World T20 semi-final at Antigua.

In other news, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the Proteas' upcoming home series against Pakistan due to a knee injury. Meanwhile, Shannon Gabriel will miss West Indies' next Test at Mirpur after breaching ICC's Code of Conduct.

Here are all of today's important developments from the cricket world.

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#4 Lungi Ngidi ruled out of Pakistan series

Lungi Ngidi will be out of action for the next three months

Young pace Lungi Ngidi will play no part in South Africa's upcoming home assignment against Pakistan. Having injured his knee during the recently completed T20I against Australia, the right-arm seamer will be out of action for the next three months at least.

South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee stated, "Lungi fell awkwardly while fielding during the T20I against Australia last Sunday. He underwent investigations and further assessments with knee specialists upon his return to South Africa, which revealed a significant ligament injury to the right knee. Due to the significant nature of the injury, he will require a minimum of 12 weeks of rest and rehabilitation to make a successful return to play."

Pakistan are set to visit South Africa for a tour comprising three Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is during December to February.

#3 Suspended Shannon Gabriel to miss Mirpur Test

Shannon Gabriel is a vital cog in West Indies' pace attack

West Indies pacer Shannon Gabriel has been suspended for his team's next Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka. The speedster landed himself in trouble after making shoulder contact with Imrul Kayes during the opening day's play in the Chittagong Test.

Aside from being fined 30 percent of his match fee, Gabriel also received two demerit points. Since he had already received three demerit points for running into Sarfraz Ahmed during the Jamaica Test against Pakistan in April last year, the 30-year old has been handed a one-Test suspension by the ICC.

According to a ICC Press Release, Gabriel was found guilty of breaching Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "inappropriate physical contact with a player, player support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an international match".

#2 Abject India crash out of Women's World T20

England overpowered India to book a place in the final of the 2018 Women's World T20

Entering the game on the back of a four-match winning streak in the tournament, India imploded with the bat and went down tamely to England in the semi-final of the 2018 Women's World T20.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first on a sluggish pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, India began promisingly. From a position of strength at 89/2, they lost their last eight wickets in the space of 35 balls.

Despite losing a couple of early wickets, England rode on an unbeaten 92-run third-wicket partnership between Amy Jones and Natalie Sciver to chase down their target of 113 with 17 balls to spare.

#1 Rain washes out second T20I at Melbourne

India's disciplined bowling performance went unrewarded at the MCG

After losing the opening T20I at the Gabba by a mere four runs, a fired-up Indian team arrived at Melbourne for the crucial second match at Melbourne. However, their impressive bowling effort went unrewarded as rain had the last laugh at the iconic MCG.

Having won the toss, India opted to bowl first. Bhuvneshwar Kumar set the tone by removing Aaron Finch off the second ball of the match. All bowlers chipped in to leave Australia tottering at 132/7 when rain forced the players off the field at the end of 19 overs.

Despite attempts at launching India's run-chase, the persistently wet weather left the umpires and match referee with no choice but to abandon the match. With Australia leading the 3-match series 1-0, the final T20I will take place on Sunday at Sydney.