Australia suffer historic three-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in tri-series shock

September 1, 2014

Zimbabwe historic

Sep 1: Australia have suffered a shambolic defeat at the hands of cricket minnows Zimbabwe in front of a rocking crowd at Harare Sports Club.

The No.10-ranked African nation exposed Australia for their poor batting, lack of spin options and mistakes in the field in a fairy tale three-wicket triumph.

It's just Zimbabwe's second ever win against Australia in ODI cricket - the last time it happened was at the 1983 World Cup.

When No.9 batsman Prosper Utseya brought up the winning runs with a towering six with 12 balls remaining, teammates flooded the pitch in celebration.

The embarrassing result for the world No.1 Australians means they aren't yet assured of qualifying for Saturday's tri-series final against South Africa.

Only three Australian batsmen made it past 20, with skipper Michael Clarke's courageous 68 not out despite aggravating a hamstring injury about all that held the total of 9-209 together - a record low score against battlers Zimbabwe.

After bucking the trend so far this tri-series and electing to bat first, Australia couldn't cope with Zimbabwe's spin battalion who combined to take 6-117 from 36 overs on a raging turner.

In response, Australia were under-equipped for the conditions, with not enough support for Nathan Lyon (4-44 from 10) in the spin department.

Zimbabwean captain Elton Chigumbura's unbeaten 52 led his team to one of their greatest wins.

Needing 44 off 60 with three wickets in hand, Zimbabwe were given the life they needed two overs later when Chigumbura survived a running mix-up thanks to an off throw from Mitchell Starc at mid-on.

Starc (2-41) and James Faulkner cracked under pressure with wides and no balls at the death and Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya (30no) combined for the final 55 runs.

Clarke re-aggravated his hamstring when on 62 and, after getting to the point where he could barely hobble between wickets, retired hurt.

The captain will now fly back to Australia for treatment and is a serious doubt for the upcoming Test series against Pakistan.

But in another display of grit under pressure - he returned to the non-striker's end for the final two balls of the innings and then remarkably came onto field midway through the Zimbabwe innings when Australia were floundering.

He even bowled the 47th over with Zimbabwe needing 11 to win.

A fired-up and focused Clarke was dissatisfied with his team's intensity in the field after 18 overs and came from the dressing rooms barking instructions and pointing figures.

Clarke's presence had an almost immediate impact, with Zimbabwe slipping from a stronghold at 2-100 to the wobbles at 5-106.

But Australia's decision not to pick a second recognised spinner for the tour has been shown up to be a mistake - with nothing in the Harare deck for the bevy of seam bowlers.

Selectors also erred in leaving Test batsman and capable part-timer Steve Smith out of the XI on Sunday, with Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch going for plenty.

Mitchell Johnson's vicious pace could also have been handy, but he was rested.

Finch's left-arm offspin was blasted for 16 runs in the 17th over with Brendan Taylor (32) leading the way in the chase.

Australia must beat South Africa in their final pool match on Tuesday, or rely on Zimbabwe not sneaking a bonus point win over the Proteas on Thursday to ensure their place in the final.

Aaron Finch (11), Phil Hughes (10), George Bailey (1), Glenn Maxwell (13) and Mitchell Marsh (15) all departed cheaply to make it 5-97 after 29 overs.

Australia

A. Finch b Nyumbu 11

P. Hughes c Nyumbu b Utseya 10

M. Clarke not out 68

G. Bailey b Williams 1

G. Maxwell b Waller 13

M. Marsh c Utseya b Tiripano 15

B. Haddin c Waller b Tiripano 49

J. Faulkner c Nyumbu b Utseya 0

M. Starc b Williams 3

B. Cutting run out 26

N. Lyon not out 8

Sundries (2lb, 3w) 5

Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 209

Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Finch), 2-38 (Hughes), 3-39 (Bailey), 4-57 (Maxwell), 5-97 (Marsh), 5-147 (Clarke, retired not out), 6-147 (Faulkner), 7-150 (Starc), 8-201 (Cutting), 9-202 (Haddin).

Bowling: Chatara 8-0-56-0, Nyumbu 10-1-30-1, Utseya 10-0-45-2, Tiripano 6-1-34-2, Williams 10-2-21-2, Waller 6-0-21-1.

Zimbabwe

T. Mawoyo b Lyon 15

Sikandar Raza c sub (Smith) b Lyon 22

H. Masakadza b Starc 18

B. Taylor b Lyon 32

M. Waller c & b Maxwell 11

S. Williams c Clarke b Lyon 4

E. Chigumbura not out 52

D. Tiripano b Starc 3

P. Utseya not out 30

Sundries (2b, 3lb, 18w, 1nb) 24

Total (7 wkts, 48 overs) 211

Fall of wickets: 1-42 (Sikandar Raza), 2-44 (Mawoyo), 3-100 (Masakadza), 4-102 (Taylor), 5-106 (Williams), 6-142 (Waller), 7-156 (Tiripano).

Bowling: Starc 10-3-41-2, Marsh 4-2-13-0, Cutting 6-0-18-0, Faulkner 7-0-28-0, Lyon 10-1-44-4, Finch 2-0-19-0, Maxwell 8-0-41-1, Clarke 1-0-2-0.

Result: Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

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News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: India skipper Virat Kohli on Friday made a heartfelt appeal to the citizens of the country, asking them to follow social distancing as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus pandemic.
He also went on to say that over the past few days, he has seen some people still taking to the streets, and added that if people still continue to venture out, then they are not being honest with the country.
Kohli released a small video clip on Twitter, making the public appeal and captioned the post as: "Please wake up to the reality and seriousness of the situation and take responsibility. The nation needs our support and honesty"
"Today, I am talking to you as a citizen of the country. Whatever I have seen over the past few days, I have seen people not following the lockdown, it has made me feel that some people are taking the battle against COVID-19 very lightly. I request you all to please follow social distancing, whatever the government is asking you to do, please follow it," Kohli said in the video released on Twitter.
"Think about what can happen to your family members because of your negligence. Our medical experts are fighting this battle day in and day out. If you are still going out to the streets, then I don't think you are being honest to your country," he added.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to impose a 21-day lockdown in the country as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases have risen to 724 in India (including 640 active cases, 66 cured or discharged people) and 17 deaths.
The World Health Organisation had termed the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic on March 11. 

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Agencies
May 31,2020

London, May 31: "Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli," replied umpire Ian Gould when he was asked to name the three best batsmen he loved watching when he was officiating as an umpire.

The former ICC elite umpire said that he was unlucky to not watch Ponting bat as much as he would have liked to.

"Jacques Kallis. I loved watching Jacques. He was a very, very fine player. Sachin. And probably Virat. I was unlucky in some respects. I didn't see the best of Ricky Ponting. He was an outstanding character, outstanding captain, such a proud Australian," ESPNCricinfo quoted Gould as saying.

"But his career was just starting to wane as I came on the scene. But he was incredibly helpful, so I'm disappointed I have to leave him out. Jacques Kallis, I could sit and watch all day, Virat, the same. And Sachin, if you want someone to bat for your life, he was the man," he added.

Gould had retired from the ICC's panel of elite umpires in 2019, after standing in more than 250 international matches over a 13-year career.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

While, Kallis played 166 Tests, 328 ODIs and 25 T20Is for South Africa and he is often viewed as the greatest all-rounder the game has seen.

Many pundits of the game find it hard to pick between him and Sir Garfield Sobers.

Across his career, Kallis scored 25,534 runs in his career and he also managed to take 577 wickets.

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