Asia Cup: India beat Afghanistan by 8 wickets in inconsequential match

March 6, 2014

Asia_CupMirpur, Mar 6: Knocked out of contention for the final, five-time champions India ended their Asia Cup campaign with a consolation win over debutantes Afghanistan, beating them by eight wickets in a lop-sided encounter on Wednesday.

After skipper Virat Kohli opted to bowl on winning the toss, Indian spinners Ravindra Jadeja, R Aswhin and Amit Mishra shared eight wickets between them to skittle out Afghanistan for 159 in 45.2 overs.

The Indians chased down the target in 32.2 overs to clinch the bonus point but it was a case of too little too late after defeats against Sri Lanka and Pakistan poured cold water on their final hopes.

Ajinkya Rahane (56), after being promoted to open, and Shikhar Dhawan (60) set up the chase for India with a 121-run opening wicket partnership.

Earlier, Mohammed Shami provided India the first breakthrough by dismissing Nawroj Mangal (5) and thereafter it was a one-sided contest as Jadeja ripped through the inexperienced batting to finish with figures of 4/30.

Ashwin (3/31) also chipped in to fox the Afghans, who will go out with their heads held high after beating Bangladesh during the course of their campaign.

Afghanistan's innings centered around No 8 batsman Samiullah Shenwari, who scored a sensible 50 from 73 balls to give their total a semblance of respectability after a top-order collapse left them reeling at 95/7.

Having played safe by not fiddling with the playing XI even in a dead rubber against Afghanistan, India sent Rahane in the opening slot, a move that clicked as he and Dhawan put on a century partnership.

The duo played mostly in ground strokes and Rahane impressed up the order with his composed batting. The youngster, who usually bats at number four, settled in quickly and rotated the strike to take pressure off Dhawan, a tentative-starter who got a reprieve on 28.

But inspired by Rahane, Dhawan too got into the groove as the duo scored their half-centuries in tandem. Rahane was unlucky to have been given out LBW after completing his fifth ODI half-century.

Dhawan was gone exactly an over later when Mohammad Nabi knocked off his off-stump after the batsman was beaten by the turn. Dhawan smashed four boundaries and a six in his knock that came off 78 deliveries.

But their dismissal in quick succession did little to hamper the Indian momentum as Rohit Sharma (18 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (21 not out) steered the Indians home with ease.

Earlier in the match, Afghanistan started on a positive intent with openers Noor Ali (31) and Nawroj Mangal (5) looked in no trouble against the Indian new-ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar and Shami.

Noor Ali looked attractive with his elegant drives and he also stepped out to Shami who looked jaded and seemed to have lost his bite. The Indian pacer conceded 23 runs from his first two overs.

The effects of bowling non-stop since emerging into the scene began to show on Shami who was kept in the playing XI despite the game being dead rubber.

With the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishwar Pandey warming the bench, the think-tank could have easily handed them the berths but skipper Kohli opted to play it safe retaining the XI.

The Afghanistan openers were cruising along at 30 for no loss from five overs when Nawroj went for an expansive heave way outside the off-stump only to play on to the stumps.

Their inexperience cost them heavily as Jadeja came in the 13th over and took two wickets helped by some poor shot selection by the Afghan batsmen.

Jadeja had Rahmat Shah (9) trapped before scalping the impressive Noor Ali who threw his wicket after pulling a short ball straight to Kohli.

In the next over, Jadeja dismissed Afghanistan's leading run-getter in the series Asghar Stanikzai who also pulled the ball straight to Mishra to be dismissed for five.

Jadeja's figures at that stage read an impressive 2-0-3-3.

It could have been a fourth wicket had Kohli not messed up while taking a sitter of Najibullah Zadran but it did not hurt the side with the bowlers on a roll.

Apart from Shenwari only two others -- Noor Ali Zadran (31) and Mohammad Shahzad (22) -- could reach double figures faced with India's hostile spin attack.

Shenwari was the last wicket to fall, trapped in front of the wicket by Shami, who emerged as the most expensive bowler for India conceding 50 runs from his 7.2 overs while picking up two wickets.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 27,2020

Melbourne, Feb 27: Shafali Verma's 34-ball 46 followed by a superlative performance from the bowlers helped India notch up a narrow four-run win over New Zealand in a crucial group A match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup on Thursday.

Invited to bat, India posted a below-par 133 for eight against New Zealand in the crucial group A match with Shafali top-scoring with a 34-ball 46 and Taniya Bhatia chipping in with a 25-ball 23.

India, however, produced a disciplined performance with the ball to restrict New Zealand to 129 for six and register their third successive win in the tournament.

With this win, India topped Group A, having beaten Australia and Bangladesh in their last two outing.

Defending the total, India introduced spin straight away but Deepti Sharma bled 12 runs with opener Rachel Priest (12) hitting her for two boundaries.

But experienced pacer Shikha Pandey removed Priest in the next over when she had her caught at mid wicket.

With Shikha and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad bowling in tandem, New Zealand played with caution to reach 28 for one.

Back into the attack, Deepti then cleaned up Bates with a beauty of a delivery as New Zealand slipped to 30 for two.

Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav then mounted the pressure on the Kiwis and soon the Black Caps were 34 for 3 when the former dismissed skipper Sophie Devine (14).

Maddy Green (24) and Katey Martin (25) then tried to resurrect the innings with a 36-ball 43-run stand.

However, Gayakwad returned to remove Green, who danced down the pitch only to end up with an outside edge as Bhatia did the rest.

Radha then dismissed Martin to leave New Zealand at 90 for 5 in 16.3 overs.

Needing 44 off 21 balls, Kerr (34) blasted four boundaries to accumulate 18 runs in the penultimate over bowled by Poonam to bring the equation down to 16 off six balls.

In the final over, Heyley Jensen (11) and Kerr cracked a four each but Shikha held her nerves in the end to complete the win.

Earlier, 16-year-old Shafali provided the fireworks as India scored 49 for one in the powerplay overs. But they lost six wickets for 43 runs to squander the good start.

Smriti Mandhana (11), who returned to the playing XI after missing the last match due to illness, departed early but Shafali and Taniya (23) kept the scoreboard ticking, adding 51 runs for the second wicket.

In the 10th over, Taniya was caught by Amelia Kerr at backward point, while Jemimah Rodrigues (10) was caught by Kerr in the 12th over as India slipped to 80 for 3.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's (1) poor form also continued as she was soon back to the hut after being caught and bowled by Leigh Kasperek.

Shafali, who was dropped at long-on in the 8th over and at mid-wicket in the 10th over, then holed out to Jensen at deep extra cover. She had four hits to the fence and three maximum shots in her innings.

Left-handed batter Deepti Sharma (8) and Veda Krishnamurthy (6) brought up the 100 in the 15th over but both departed soon as India slumped to 104 for 6.

Radha Yadav then blasted 14 off nine balls, which included a six in the final over, to give some respectability to the total.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Filipina weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz noticed live-streamed concerts were collecting money for coronavirus relief and was struck by inspiration: why not raise funds with an online workout?

Since then the Olympic silver-medallist -- and strong contender for her country's first Games gold -- has made enough money to buy food packs for hundreds of hard-hit families in the Philippines.

Diaz has done it all from Malaysia, where she was training to qualify for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics when much of the world locked down against the virus in March.

"I thought (distribution) would be impossible because I'm not physically present," Diaz, 29, told news agency.

"It's a good thing that I have trusted friends and trusted family members who understand why we need to do a fundraising."

That circle of supporters has handed out the packages, which include vegetables, eggs and rice, to more than 400 families.

The food was bought with donations from about 50 people who joined sessions that lasted up to three hours, and gave them a rare chance to train with an elite athlete.

Diaz rose to fame in 2016 after snagging a surprise silver in the 53 kilogramme category in Rio, becoming the Philippines' first female Olympic medallist and ending the nation's 20-year medal drought at the Games.

Two years later, she won gold at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

However, her quest to qualify for Tokyo is on hold ahead of the Games' rescheduled opening in July 2021.

"I thought all the hard work would soon be over... then it was extended," she said. "But I'm still thankful I can still continue with (the training) I need to do."

Still, the lockdown broke her daily training regimen, keeping her away from weights for 14 days for the first time in her career.

"I felt like I was losing my mind already. I've been carrying the barbell for 18 years and all of a sudden it's gone. Those were the kinds of anxiety that I felt," she said.

But she got access to some equipment, and with her coach's urging, got back to work. She was relieved to find her strength was still there.

Instead of a Tokyo berth, the past months have been about a different kind of accomplishment for Diaz: helping her countrymen get through the coronavirus crisis.

Rosemelyn Francisco's family in Zamboanga City, Diaz's home town, is one of the first to get help from the athlete's initiative, and is deeply grateful.

Her family was not wealthy to begin with, and the pandemic has cost her husband his construction job.

"The food she donated has all everything we need, including eggs," said Francisco, 27.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Manchester United's Paul Pogba on Monday paid tribute to George Floyd, stressing that violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated and they have to stop.

Pogba took to Instagram to write: "During the past few days I have thought a lot about how to express my feelings about what happened in Minneapolis. I felt anger, pity, hatred, indignation, pain, sadness."

"Sadness for George and for all black people who suffer from racism Every day! Whether in football, at work, at school, Anywhere! This has to stop, once and for all! Not tomorrow or the next day, it has to end today! Violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated," he added.

Protests erupted in Minneapolis and other US cities on Tuesday after Floyd, an African-American man, died following his arrest by the four officers.

A viral video showed a police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinning 46-year-old Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes. Floyd died at a local hospital shortly thereafter.

The four police officers were fired. Chauvin was also charged with murder and manslaughter, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

Comments

zaki ahmed
 - 
Wednesday, 3 Jun 2020

This photograph in the above mentioned article is of Floyd Mayweather Jr , the world welterweight & super heavy weight champion & wrongly menitoned as Pogba .

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.