Chennai Super Kings pull off last-ball thriller, defeat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets

Agencies
April 12, 2019

Apr 12: Chennai Super Kings pulled off a last-ball thriller to defeat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Thursday.

With the win, MS Dhoni has added another feather to his illustrious career, becoming the first captain to register 100 wins in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Chasing a target of 152, Dhawal Kulkarni dismissed Shane Watson for a duck in the very first over to ensure a quality start.

In the next over, a direct-hit at the non-striker`s end by Jofra Archer resulted in run-machine Suresh Raina (4) walking back.

Ambati Rayudu witnessed the dismissal of Faf du Plessis (7) and Kedar Jadhav (1) in quick succession before finding support in captain MS Dhoni, with whom he built a 95-run stand to inch closer towards victory.

However, Rajasthan tilted the momentum when Ben Stokes dismissed Rayudu (57), who tried to swat the ball with Shreyas Gopal holding on to the ball at square leg.

With eight required off four balls, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle almost took Chennai home but Stokes nailed the perfect yorker at the right time dismissing Dhoni for 58.

Just when Rajasthan thought they would seal the match, Stokes bowled a no-ball to Mitchell Santner, bringing in an angry Dhoni to argue with the umpires, who revoked it.

With three required off the last ball, Santner finished off the game in style, smashing a six off Stokes.

Earlier, put in to bat, a late flourish helped Rajasthan recover from a loss of wickets in the middle overs to post a competitive target of 151.

Openers Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Buttler could have settled in the powerplay had Chennai skipper Dhoni not appealed for an lbw decision off Deepak Chahar a few nanoseconds before the DRS countdown ended.

Dhoni`s cheeky decision worked in favour of the visitors, forcing Rahane to walk back for 14. In the very next over, Shardul Thakur dismissed Buttler (23), leaving Rajasthan struggling at 47/2.

The Chennai bowlers spun a web around Rajasthan, taking wickets at regular intervals, including the big fish Steve Smith (15), who became Jadeja`s 100th victim in the league.

Rajasthan at 78/5 clawed back midway through the innings as Ben Stokes and the 17-year-old debutant Riyan Parag added a crucial 25 runs to cross the 100-run mark. However, Thakur dismissed Parag caught behind for 16, while Chahar cleaned up Stokes for 28.

The hosts fought back in the death overs scoring 18 runs off Shardul Thakur's final over. Rajasthan will next face Mumbai Indians on April 13, whereas Chennai will play against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 14.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 155/6 (MS Dhoni 58, AT Rayudu 57, BA Stokes 2-39) beat Rajasthan Royals 151/7 (BA Stokes 28, RA Jadeja 2-20, DL Chahar 2-33, SN Thakur 2-44) by four wickets.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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News Network
February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels there are a lot of similarities between the Virat Kohli-led Team India and the Pakistan team when Imran Khan had led it as both captains instill strong self-belief in their respective teams.

Manjrekar also said that Pakistan under Imran had found different ways of winning matches even when it seemed all was lost.

"India under Virat in NZ reminds me of Pakistan under Imran. Strong self belief as a team. Pakistan under Imran found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. That only happens when the self belief is strong," Manjrekar tweeted.

The cricketer turned commentator expressed his opinion after India completed a rare 5-0 whitewash with a seven-run victory over New Zealand in the final T20 International in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

Manjrekar also lauded KL Rahul, now also shouldering wicket-keeping duty, for his impressive showing in recent times.

"Samson & Pant... the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game they just need to infuse a small dose of Virat's batting 'smarts' (mind) into their game," Manjrekar wrote.

The victory at the Bay Oval saw India stretch their record for most successive T20I wins.

This was their eighth win in a row, bettering the previous three instances when they won seven successive matches.

Kohli is the most successful Test captain in Indian cricket history, winning 11 consecutive series at home and are on top of the ICC rankings.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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