Chennaiyin FC beat FC Goa 3-2 to emerge ISL champions

December 21, 2015

Margao, Dec 21: Forced to shift base to another venue due to floods in their home city, Chhenaiyin FC were today crowned the Indian Super League champions after they beat FC Goa 3-2 in a drama-filled summit clash in which three goals were scored in the last four minutes here today.

chennaniyan

In a befitting grand finale of the ISL second season which saw 186 goals scored in 60 matches as compared to 121 last year, the Chennaiyin vs Goa clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here saw as many as five goals, all of them coming in the second half in the edge-of-the-seat match.

Bruno Pelissari put Chennaiyin ahead in the 54th minute but Goa equalised within four minutes with Thongkhosiem Haokip finding the target. Joffre Gonzalez then put Goa ahead for the first time in the 87th minute in what looked like to be the winning goal.

But, under dramatic circumstances, Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani conceded an own goal in the 90th minute to level the score before Chennaiyin striker Stiven Mendoza found the target in the first minute of the injury time to stun the home supporters of Goa.

The thrilling final, attended by the likes of Indian Test cricket team captain and Goa co-owner Virat Kohli and his actress girlfriend Anushka Sharma besides Chennaiyin owner Abhishek Bachchan and ISL Chairperson Nita Ambani, brought a climactic end to the season of the lucrative league.

For Chennaiyin, coached by Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi, the triumph was all the more remarkable as they had to shift to Pune for their semifinals first leg after their home venue was devastated by the floods.

They were also struggling in the early part of the league phase and needed four wins on the trot in their last four matches to qualify for the semifinals.

On the other hand, it was heartbreak for Goa who looked the most attacking side in the season under Brazilian legend Zico who is not expected to return for the next season.

The winners got richer by Rs 8 crore while the runners- team got Rs 4 crore. The two semi-final losers got Rs 1.5 crore each.

Colombian Mendoza, who continued with his fine form in the tournament today also, was later named as the best player of the tournament besides also winning the Golden Boot Award for scoring highest number of 13 goals. He though missed a penalty kick in the match.

Both the team, looking for their maiden title after they lost in the semifinals last year, started cautiously and had the honours shared equally in the barren first half.

The visitors made one change in the starting line up bringing in Pelissari in place of Elano Blumer. The home side fielded unchanged eleven that won against Delhi Dynamos in the semifinals.

They got an early jolt when striker Dudu Omagbemi got injured after an aerial duel with Mailson Alves and was taken to the hospital for treatment. He was replaced by Jonathan Lucca who played as a defensive midfielder, allowing Leo Moura to move further up along with Joffre.

Mendoza, who has been a threat to all opposition defence this season, was kept quiet for long before he made his presence in the 37th minute when he played a one-two with Jeje Lalpekhlua.

Mendoza dribbled past two rival defenders before letting go a firm left footer which keeper Kattimani did well to put out of danger.

Earlier, Kattimani did well to come out of his charge to push the ball out of danger before Mendoza could score after defender Bikramjit Singh failed to intercept it inside the box.

Goa made attacking moves but the alert Chennaiyin defence led by Bernard Mendy did well to cut off their moves even as they came close to scoring on a couple of occasions.

Goa coach Zico once again reverted their earlier formation, playing two strikers bringing in Thongkoisep Haokip in place of Leo Moura to create more impact upfront.

Mendoza, who looked dangerous whenever he had the ball, earned a penalty for his team in the 54th minute when Pronay Halder brought him down inside the box. Pelissari who took the penalty saw his shot saved by keeper Kattimani but the Brazilian made sure he scored the goal in the rebound.

Goa retaliated and restored parity in the 58th minute as Romeo Fernandes sent a cross into the Chennaiyin box for Thongkoisep Haokip to tap home. Indian Test cricket captain Virat Kohli was seen punching in the air to celebrate the goal by his team.

Minutes latter, Mendoza again earned a penalty for his team after he was brought down by keeper Kattimani. Mendoza took the penalty himself but his effort was saved by Kattimani who dived to his left to put the ball out.

Thereafter, the match came to alive as both the teams made attacking moves with Goa looking more threatening. They took the lead in the 88th minute. Joffre took a free kick and Rafael ducked himself and the ball took the deflection of Elano Blumer before going into the net in the 88th minute.

Chennaiyin fought back and restored parity in the 90th minute. From a move on the left, Mehrajuddin Wadoo's looping ball inside the box saw Kattimani come off his line to punch it clear with Mendoza applying pressure. However, the ball took a touch of Kattimani's hands before landing into the net.

With the match heading for penalty shoot out, Chennaiyin pocket dynamo Mendoza scored the winner in the injury time. Rane played the ball for Mendoza from the left. The Colombian striker chested it down and got the better of Arnolin and Lucio and took a shot which Kattimani could only get a touch but could not keep out.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: Former England skipper David Gower feels Sourav Ganguly has the right "political skills" to lead the ICC one day and he has already displayed that as BCCI president, which is a "far tougher job".

The elegant left-hander is very impressed with Ganguly's leadership abilities and believes that he has what it takes to head the global body in the future.

"One thing I have learnt over the years is that if you are going to run BCCI, you need to be many, many things. Having a reputation like he (Ganguly) has is a very good start, but you need to be a very deft politician.

"You need to have control of a million different things," Gower said ahead of "Q20", a unique chat show for the fans presented by 'GloFans'.

Gower reckons being president of the BCCI is the toughest job imaginable in world cricket.

"And of course, you need to be responsible for a game that is followed by, I mean, should we say a billion people here in India," he said.

"We all know about the immense following for cricket in India. So it is indeed a wonderful thing to behold. Sourav has the toughest task imaginable in charge of BCCI, but so far I would say the signs are very good.

"He has listened, given his own opinion and has pulled strings gently," he said.

Political skills are a must in administration and that's where Gower finds his fellow left-hander ticking all the boxes.

"He is a very, very good man and has those political skills. He has the right attitude and can keep things together and will do good job. And if you do a good job as BCCI chief in the future, who knows?

"But I would actually say the more important job, to be honest, is running BCCI. Being head of ICC is an honour, there is a lot that can be done by ICC, but actually look at the rankings, look at where the power is heading up. BCCI is definitely the bigger job," he said.

On the cricketing front, Gower believes World Test Championship has given the format much-needed context.

"The idea of this World Test Championship has come about for one very simple reason that people are worried about the survival of Tests. Back in the seventies, eighties, I don't think we needed context to be fair.

"Test cricket was very much more obviously the most important format and if there was anything to be judged by, it was the performances in Test matches both as an individual and as a team.

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Agencies
March 15,2020

Chennai, Mar 15: Wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni has left the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) training camp following the postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) amidst the coronavirus scare.

The former India skipper had joined the CSK's camp earlier this month in order to practice for the upcoming IPL season.

CSK's official handle tweeted a video of Dhoni and captioned the post as: "It has become your home sir!" Keep whistling, as #Thala Dhoni bids a short adieu to #AnbuDen".

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the tournament.

Earlier this year, Dhoni did not find a place for himself in the BCCI's centrally contracted players list.

BCCI had released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

On Friday, BCCI decided to postpone the IPL until April 15 as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, all the IPL franchises met in Mumbai to discuss as to how to go on with the tournament in the future.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Rajkot, Jan 16: Skipper Virat Kohli is set to be back at his regular number three position after the strategy of coming two-down boomeranged in the lung-opener as India take on a resolute Australia in the must-win second ODI here on Friday.

India go into the game 0-1 down after Australia registered a 10-wicket win in the lung-opener at Mumbai, courtesy David Warner and Aaron Finch, who hit unbeaten hundreds.

In a bid to field all three in-form players -- Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul --, Kohli dropped himself down the order but the plan backfired spectacularly as he was unable to convert his start.

Opener Dhawan later said he was ready to bat at number three if asked to by the team management, but since Kohli has been successful at that position, the skipper would be more than willing to walk in one-down.

Kohli batting at three also provides stability to the middle-order.

With a concussed Rishabh Pant out of the second game, Rahul is a certainty as he will keep wickets.

So, like in the last game, Rohit and Dhawan, who made a dogged 74 off 91 balls in Wankhede, could open, and there could be a toss-up between Rahul and young Shreyas Iyer at number four. Iyer had a rare failure on Tuesday.

Pant's absence could pave the way for the inclusion of Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey, who made optimum use of the opportunity that he got in the third T20 against Sri Lanka in Pune.

It would also be interesting to see which among the experienced Kedar Jadhav and rookie Shivam Dube makes the squad.

Rohit, who had a phenomenal 2019, failed in the first game, but given the form he is in, the opener is expected to bounce back strongly here.

Ditto for Kohli, who is just one hundred short of equalling cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar's record of most hundreds on home soil for India.

The bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah had a forgettable outing at the Wankhede and they would be more than eager to make a strong comeback and prove their mettle.

Bumrah, since his comeback, has not been as effective as earlier and he would like to change the perception.

It would be interesting to see whether India play Delhi speedster Navdeep Saini or persist with Shardul Thakur, who gave away 43 runs in Mumbai.

Ravindra Jadeja looks a certainty and so the choice would be between chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who conceded 55 runs in the first ODI and Yuzvendra Chahal as the lead spinner.

On the other hand, a high on confidence Australia will be looking to seal the issue to register back to back series wins in India, a rare feat for any visiting team. The Finch-Warner combination will look forward to carry the momentum.

Their middle-order comprising the experienced Steve Smith, in-form Marnus Labuschange, Ashton Turner and Alex Carey looks more or less settled.

If all of them fire in unison, along with the openers, then it will hard for the opposition bowlers.

However, it will be quite a test of their middle-order at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium.

Australian bowlers also showed at the Wankhede, why they are considered among the best.

Led by pace spearhead Mitchell Starc, they bundled out India for a sub-par 255 and Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins would be raring to go once again.

Spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, not only contained the runs, but provided crucial breakthroughs and are expected to play a similar role again in the middle overs.

The track here is expected to be a belter and India can draw confidence from the home series against New Zealand in 2017, when they won 2-1 after losing the opener, co-incidentally in Mumbai.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami.

Australia: Aaron Finch (Captain), Alex Carey (Wicket-keeper), Patrick Cummins, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschange, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner and Adam Zampa.

Match starts at 1.30.

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