Champions! Delhi Acers clinch PBL title after thrilling 4-3 victory over Mumbai Rockets

January 18, 2016

New Delhi, Jan 18: Delhi Acers notched up a thrilling 4-3 victory over Mumbai Rockets in the summit clash to clinch the revamped Premier Badminton League (PBL) title at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi on Tuesday.

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Tommy Sugiarto, men's doubles pair of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong and Rajiv Ouseph won their respective matches as Delhi clinched the trophy and pocketed a winner's cheque of Rs 3 crores.

Mixed doubles pair of Kamilla Juhl and Vladimir Ivanov thrashed Gabrielle Adcock and Akshay Dewalkar 15-6 15-12 to draw first blood for Mumbai Rockets.

In the first men's singles, Tommy Sugiarto then continued his unbeaten run at the tournament as he saw off Mumbai's H S Prannoy 13-15 15-9 15-9 to bring Delhi back into the contest.

In the men's doubles match, Ivanov and Mathais Boe played their heart out before going down narrowly 14-15 15-10 15-14 to Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong as Delhi grabbed a 2-1 lead after three matches.

China's Han Li, who had beaten World No 2 Saina Nehwal on Friday to take Mumbai into the finals, then notched up a 12-15 15-8 15-8 win over P C Thulasi in their Trump match to make it 3-2 in Mumbai's favour.

In the deciding match, which was Delhi's Trump match, 2010 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Rajiv Ouseph took the court against RMV Gurusaidutt and he took Delhi across the line by grabbing two points with a 15-11 15-6 win over the Indian in the last match of the day.

In the first match, Kamilla and Ivanov stamped their authority early as they zoomed to a 8-5 lead at the break. The Denmark shuttler dished out some superb serves to continue their good run and reeled off six points to reach 14-8. Ivanov hit wide but they grabbed the next point to win the opening game.

Adcock and Dewalkar opened up a slender 3-1 lead early on in the second game and reached the interval with a 8-4 cushion. But Mumbai clawed back when Dewalkar hit wide and then wrested a 12-9 lead with Ivanov in full flow. Kamilla's return took Mumbai to a 14-11 match point. Delhi saved one but a service error sealed it in Mumbai's favour next.

In the second match of the day, Sugiarto, who has not lost a match in PBL, took the court against Prannoy and despite a fight from the Indian lead 8-5 at the break when the latter's smash got buried at the nets.

Prannoy clawed back at 9-9 with a cracking smash and moved into the lead at 12-11 when Sugiarto hit the nets. The Indian moved into the game point at 14-12 with a dribble at net and grabbed the opening game when Sugiarto hit long.

Sugiarto once again nosed ahead, grabbing a 8-3 lead in the second game with a cross court return. With Prannoy struggling with his strokes, Sugiarto ran away with the match to bounce back in the contest. In the decider, Sugiarto continued his dominance and lead 8-3 at the break. The duo engaged in gruelling rallies but Prannoy failed to close the points. The result was Sugiarto zoomed to the match point in a jiffy. The Indian saved three points before the Indonesian sealed his sixth win when Prannoy hit long.

"It was a tough match as it is the Final Tie of the League, so its quite expected. Prannoy played very well today and gave me good competition. Losing the first match was a setback but I came back with better strategies. Happy to win the match, it's big boost to my team," Sugiarto said.

In men's doubles, Ivanov and Boe rallied their way from 5-8 to clinch the opening game after a thrilling battle with Keat and Heong. However, the Delhi pair came back strongly to grab the second game. In the decider, Keat and Heong moved to a 10-3 lead early on and also reached the match point at 14-11.

Ivanov and Boe saved three match points to draw parity but Ivanov hit wide next to hand over the match to Delhi.

Koo Keat Kien and Tan Boon Heaong said: "It was an unbelievable match. We all held our nerves till the last moment. We had some game-plans. Though we lost the first game, the second game turned into a big motivation for us. We gave everything in the third game and eventually managed to out-fox the opponents."

Delhi's Thulasi then conjured up hopes of an upset as she dished out a delectable game of badminton to grab the opening game against Saina slayer Han Li but the Chinese bounced back in style as she brushed aside the Indian in the second game with a much-improved game.

In the decider, Li continued to dominate as she opened up a 8-4 lead at the break. The China shuttler didn't let her guard down after the interval and picked points with ease. Thulashi engaged in rallies and some of her strokes stunnned Li but in the end it was the Chinese who had the last laugh.

The second men's singles turned out to be a edge of the seat affair as Guru and Rajiv fought hard right from the start and the England shuttler entered the first break at 8-7.

The duo continued their tooth and nail battle after the breather moving together till 11-11. Rajiv then changed gears and dominated the rallies and pushed Guru to commit errors who netted one and then sent one long to allow Delhi grab the first game.

In the second game, Rajiv opened up a 8-4 lead and then continued his dominance as Guru's game crumbled.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

New Delhi, Jun 7: Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria on Sunday said that Sourav Ganguly would be fit to lead the International Cricket Council (ICC), and added there is no reason for respective cricket boards to not support Ganguly if he wants to hold the post.

In an interaction with media, the former spinner said Ganguly has all the qualities of leading the ICC as he has been a reputed cricketer and knows what a player goes through in his life.

"I also think that it would be really helpful if Sourav Ganguly goes on to lead ICC, it will help cricket and the players as a reputed cricketer will hold such a big post, he has played professional cricket, he has led the Indian side and he has also held an administrative post in the Cricket Association of Bengal," Kaneria told media.

"It depends on all of the boards whether they want to support Ganguly or not, if other boards support Ganguly and PCB doesn't, then also Ganguly would have the maximum number of votes, as a cricketer Ganguly is fit to lead the ICC, he had led the Indian side so well and he has earned a name for himself, so I don't see any reason for boards not supporting Ganguly," he added.

Ganguly had become the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last year, but speculation continued to rise over the former skipper heading the ICC.

"He is currently the president of the BCCI, he knows in and out of everything, he knows what players have to deal with and he is aware of what cricket needs, he knows what support needs to be given to associate nations, players would be able to put forward their point in front of Ganguly," Kaneria said.

In May this year, Cricket South Africa's (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith had backed Ganguly to lead the ICC looking at the current scenario.

"Now it is even more important to have someone in a role who can provide leadership who understands and can navigate the challenges in the game today. I think post-COVID with the things that are going to come our way, to have strong leadership is important. I feel that someone like Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment," sport24.co.za had quoted Smith as saying.

"I know him well, I played against him a number of times and worked with him as an administrator and in television. I feel that he has got the credibility, the leadership skills, and is someone that can really take the game forward and I think that, more than anything, that is needed right now at an ICC level," he added.

ICC's elections are slated to be held in July this year and current chairperson Shashank Manohar has already clarified that he is not seeking a tenure extension.

Ganguly was exceptional in making India play its first day-night Test last year.

India had played its inaugural day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens last year.

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Agencies
April 15,2020

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey has heaped praise on MS Dhoni, saying the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is the "greatest finisher" the game of cricket has ever seen.

"Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced," Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo's Videocast.

"Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes, he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn't have that kind of belief in myself," he added.

The former Australian batsman, who shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, said the 38-year-old Indian believes in the philosophy that he who panics last, wins the game.

"I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over," said Hussey while talking about his ability to finish the game without much hiccups.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"Supportive owners who let coach Stephen Fleming and captain Dhoni decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the coach and the captain, Dhoni's leadership and lastly the foresight of the owners, Fleming and Dhoni to pick the best players, particularly the good Indian players and then stick with them for as long as possible."

"This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust that otherwise takes time to grow," he added.

Hussey also said that once Dhoni bids adieu to the game, CSK would probably like to start all over again.

"That's a 60-million-dollar question, and I am equally intrigued. I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved in some way or the other," said Hussey.

"However, whenever the change of guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build a brand, new team, and use their existing philosophy as they enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more challenging in current times," he added.

Dhoni was supposed to lead CSK in the 13th IPL edition which now stands postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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