1st ODI: Pandya, Dhoni guide India to easy win over Australia

Agencies
September 18, 2017

Chennai, Sept 18: Hardik Pandya's all-round flamboyance complemented by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's customary calm enabled India to record a comfortable 26-run win over Australia in the rain-curtailed opening ODI of the five-match series, here on Sunday.

Courtesy Pandya's blistering career-best 66-ball 83 and Dhoni's 79 off 88 balls, India posted a competitive 281 for seven despite losing the top half for less than 100 after opting to bat.

However intermittent showers during the break played spoilsport as Australia were set a revised target of 164 off 21 overs via Duckworth-Lewis method.

Chasing the target, Australia did not have the best of starts and kept losing wickets at regular intervals with Pandya (2/28) helping himself with a couple of wickets.

The young wrist spinners -- Kuldeep Yadav (2/33) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/30) then ran through the middle and lower order as India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

For Australia, Glenn Maxwell made a quick-fire 39 off 18 balls while James Faulkner remained unbeaten on 32 off 25 deliveries but that wasn't enough for the visitors.

Earlier, Pandya career-best knock and Chennai's resident 'Super King' Dhoni's 100th international half-century propelled India to 281 for 7.

Pandya and Dhoni scripted a brilliant recovery act after India's top-half was blown away for only 87 runs -- courtesy some controlled swing bowling from Nathan Coulter-Nile (3/44) and Marcus Stoinis (2/54).

The duo added 118 runs for the sixth wicket with Pandya taking the attack back to opposition with some brilliant sixes while Dhoni once again played the role of sheet anchor to perfection.

Pandya's 66-ball innings had five boundaries and five sixes -- four of which were hit off leg-spinner Adam Zampa's over.

Dhoni on his part hit four boundaries and two sixes -- both coming down the track and lofting over extra cover off pace bowling. The former skipper played 88 balls. The two sixes were the kind of shots that one doesn't associate with Dhoni -- maximums over extra cover.

Dhoni also added 72 runs for the seventh wicket with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (32 off 30 balls) in only 8.5 overs which took India beyond 280 plus total -- something that looked unlikely at the halfway stage.

The turning point of the innings was the 37th over bowled by Zampa (1/66 in 10 overs) when Pandya launched into him. India were 148 for 5 at that stage and the pressure was on Pandya and Dhoni, who were trying to rebuild the innings.

Pandya started with a boundary off a full toss and followed it up with three huge sixes as 24 runs came off that over. Australian bowling attack suddenly felt the pressure after that.

Earlier, Coulter-Nile making a comeback to the team after being dropped from Australia's Champions Trophy squad, made early inroads by removing Ajinkya Rahane for 5.

The Mumbai batsman didn't look very convincing in his brief stay.

He was dismissed going for a drive off a swinging delivery from Coulter-Nile only to be caught behind by Wade.

Skipper Kohli shaped for a drive and missed off the second delivery he received after having left the first one alone.

After playing the third towards cover quietly, the captain was on his way after being snapped up the athletic Glenn Maxwell at point going for an expansive drive off Coulter-Nile.

Maxwell did well to time his jump and take a one-handed catch to cut short Kohli's stay at the crease.

Manish Pandey, who got the nod ahead of his Karnataka state-mate KL Rahul, lasted just two balls. He was out fishing at a delivery on fifth stump. India were in dumps at 11 for 3 when Rohit Sharma (28) and Kedar Jadhav (40) revived the innings with a 53-run stand.

Both were out trying to pull short deliveries from Stoinis before Pandya-Dhoni took over.

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News Network
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).

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News Network
April 2,2020

New Delhi, Apr 2: It was on April 2, 2011, when the Men in Blue went on to win their second 50-over World Cup title.

India won its first World Cup in 1983 and then had to wait for 28 years to again lift the title.
Going into the 2011 tournament, India went in as the clear favourites as the competition was to be played in the sub-continent.

Under MS Dhoni's leadership, India lost just one match in the competition against South Africa.
India had defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final to set up a summit clash with Sri Lanka.

In the finals, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. Mahela Jayawardene top-scored for Sri Lanka as he struck a century to take the team's score to 274/6.

India in their chase got off to a bad start as the side lost Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag with just 31 runs on the board.

But Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni stepped up and stitched a match-winning 109-run partnership.

Gambhir perished after playing a knock of 97 runs, but in the end, Dhoni and Yuvraj took the team over the line by six wickets.

The winning six struck by Dhoni is still viewed as one of the most exciting moments in India's sporting history. 

As the winning six was hit, Ravi Shastri was doing commentary then, and he famously remarked, "Dhoni, finishes it off in style, India lifts the World Cup after 28 years".
As soon as the match-winning shot was hit, Tendulkar erupted with joy and had tears to see his dream finally being fulfilled.

Earlier this year, former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the 2011 World Cup win, titled 'Carried On the Shoulders Of A Nation', was voted the greatest Laureus Sporting Moment of the last twenty years.

The lap after the World Cup is still edged into everyone's hearts.

Playing in his last mega 50-over tournament, it was the last chance for Tendulkar to lift the coveted trophy.

Before the 2011 World Cup, Tendulkar had played five tournaments (1992,1996,1999,2003 and 2007), and he fell short every time.

The closest he came to winning the trophy was in 2003 as India made the finals under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly.

But the Men in Blue fell short in the finals against Australia.

Then in 2007, the biggest setback was in store for the legend has India bowed out of the tournament in the group stages.

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News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: There was not much rustiness but just the initial nervousness, which a “pleasantly surprised” Sania Mirza shook off to win a title in her first tournament in 27 months, capping off her comeback from a maternity leave in style.

Partnering Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenov, the trailblazing Indian tennis player annexed the Hobart International trophy with a straight sets win over second seed Chinese pair of Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang.

She worked hard to get into shape but the way she moved, it seemed Sania was never away from the courts.

“It's something I did not expect totally, so to say, but I am excited to be able to do this in my first tournament on comeback," Sania told PTI in an exclusive interview from Melbourne.

“I honestly thought I would be a bit more rustier than I was. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not. But there are things I can improve and that is what makes a champion. You always want to get better in what you are doing, no matter how well you do."

The 33-year-old winner of six Grand Slam titles said she played without pressure, and insisted there was no secret to the swift success on comeback.

“There is no key, I wish I knew, there was one key to winning. I just enjoyed my game. You have to work hard, play your game. I was playing with a new partner, new gear after two-and-a-half years. There was no pressure and no expectations.

"The first match was the only one when I felt a bit nervous because I did not know how my body would react and how I would play. That match was difficult but it set the tone and momentum. I was happy to come though that one and after that things kept getting better and better," she said.

Sania said her body has certainly changed after giving birth to son Izhaan but she did not have to tweak her post-match recovery process much.

“It does change. I was dealing with a calf injury, from last month and I aggravated a bit today. I am still icing it as we speak but it should not be serious.

“The body is a lot different now. It recovers different. But recovery (process) has not changed so much, it's similar."

Asked if she could go for her shots as she was doing before the break, she said, “I was able to do enough, I can improve, no matter how I play."

"My serve was decent but I can improve. I the first match I was not serving that well and was not returning well on important points but by the time I was playing the final, I was doing both of those little better. It is a process, it does not happen overnight. It's something will keep working on."

Serena Williams set an example in 2018 when she came out playing highly competitive tennis after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. There are other tennis moms like Victoria Azrenka and Evgeniya Rodina.

Sania said she did not seek any input from tennis moms but their presence on the Tour is inspiring enough.

“I did not speak to anyone but it is inspiring to see so many moms around, playing well in different sports."

Sania will play the Australian Open mixed doubles with compatriot Rohan Bopnna after her original first-choice Rajeev Ram opted out due to health reasons.

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