Australia need more Lyon-hearted performances in ongoing Test series against India

Agencies
December 12, 2018

Dec 12: In a once-dominant team humbled by a cheating scandal and still racked with doubts about its identity, spinner Nathan Lyon has been a reassuring throwback to an age of hard-bitten Australian cricketers who talked the talk and walked the walk.

After India completed a 31-run victory in the series-opener on Monday, few of captain Tim Paine`s players will report for duty at the Perth second test with enhanced reputations.

Lyon, however, is not one of them as he burnished his stature at Adelaide Oval by anchoring a gritty tail-end push for a final day victory after he had taken eight wickets with the ball.

Australia may have failed in their bid to pull off an unlikely victory, but Lyon ended the match unbeaten on 38 as he ran out of partners at a venue where he wore overalls as a groundsman eight years ago.

A cult hero in Australia, the 31-year-old has been nicknamed the `GOAT` -- "Greatest of All Time" -- for good reason.

His 326 test wickets is a record for an Australian off-spinner, more than double the 141 taken by Hugh Trumble more than a century ago.

But the man known as "Gazza" to his team mates has become much more than a sum of his statistics, and seems to add a new string to his bow every season.

Last year under captain Steve Smith, who is currently serving a suspension for ball-tampering, Lyon became the team`s unofficial sledger-in-chief in the lead-up to the Ashes.

He first tore into the 2013-14 England team that were whitewashed 5-0 and spoke of "ending careers" in Joe Root`s side on their subsequent tour Down Under in a rant that was denounced widely in British newspapers.

He backed up his words with 21 wickets as Australia thrashed England 4-0 to regain the urn they had relinquished in 2015.

Lyon also marked himself as an elite fielder in the series, with a stunning, one-handed caught-and-bowled effort to dismiss Moeen Ali at Adelaide Oval emerging as the highlight of several brilliant plays.

A year later, Lyon appears to have enhanced his overall repertoire with an improved batting technique.

Against India, Australia were staring down the barrel at 104 for four at stumps on day four, still 219 runs short of their victory target, when Lyon issued a rallying cry.

"We`ve got a massive sniff here, I believe anyway, in this test match," he told reporters after taking 6-122 to limit India to 307 in their second innings.

He called on his team mates to be "heroes" but nearly became one himself in a mature 47-ball knock that was at odds with the usual tail-end slog-fest.

It was a result of a winter batting sessions with his brother Brendan Lyon, who runs a coaching school for juniors, state radio reported.

Australia head into Friday`s test plagued with doubts about its batting and the wayward form of pace spearhead Mitchell Starc.

But with Lyon in the side, they at least have a model for inspiration and grit, qualities sorely needed to turn the four-match series around and deny India a first ever victorious tour Down Under.

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News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Friday donated Rs 50 lakh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed 17 Indian lives and wreaked havoc globally.

Tendulkar's donation is so far the biggest contribution among India's leading sportspersons, some of whom have pledged their salaries while a few others have donated medical equipment to fight the dreaded outbreak, which has caused more than 24,000 deaths globally.

"Sachin Tendulkar decided to contribute Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister's Relief Fund and Chief Minister's Relief Fund in his bid to join the fight against COVID-19. It was his decision that he wanted to contribute to both funds," a source privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Tendulkar has been associated with a lot of charity work and there has been umpteen times, he has taken up social causes, helped people, which has never been brought to public notice.

Among other prominent cricketers, the Pathan brothers -- Irfan and Yusuf -- donated 4000 face masks to Baroda police and health department while Mahendra Singh Dhoni, through a Pune based NGO, made a contribution of Rs 1 lakh.

Among athletes from other disciplines, wrestler Bajrang Punia and sprinter Hima Das are some of the prominent names to have donated their salaries in the battle against the dreaded virus which has led to a 21-day national lockdown.

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News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: On the first day of the New Year 2020, Hardik Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

The cricketer took to Instagram to share a photo with the actor and captioned the post: "Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged".

The 26-year-old shared three pictures and a short clip on the social media platform. In one photo, Stankovic can be seen flaunting her ring.

The couple got engaged in Dubai and were seen taking a ferry ride along with close friends.

On work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from Bollywood movie The Body starring Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor. She had also made it to the finals of the TV show Nach Baliye with her ex-boyfriend Aly Goni.

Stankovic first became a household name after appearing as a contestant on famous reality show 'Bigg Boss 8'.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Colombo, Jul 5: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis was on Sunday arrested for knocking down a pedestrian while driving, police said.

Mendis hit a 74-year-old man, killing him in the wee hours, in the Colombo suburb of Panadura.

He is to be produced before a magistrate later today, police said.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has represented Sri Lanka in 44 Tests and 76 ODIs. Mendis was part of the national squad which had resumed training after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

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