Dabang Delhi beat Bengaluru Bulls to enter PKL final

Agencies
October 17, 2019

Ahmedabad, Oct 17: Naveen Kumar was the star as Dabang Delhi on Wednesday beat defending champions Bengaluru Bulls 44-38 to book their maiden summit clash berth in the Pro Kabaddi League here.

The Delhi team produced an all-round performance, with Naveen Kumar impressing with his raids (15 raid points) and Anil Kumar dominating with his tackles (4 points) to win in front of a packed stadium at the EKA Arena by TransStadia.

This was the first time Debanag Delhi has qualified for the PKL final.

The Bulls, just like in the Eliminator against UP Yoddha, had a slow start, with Delhi dominating the first few plays. Ravinder Pahal seemed keen to maintain his dominance in duels against Pawan Sehrawat and started the match with a clean ankle hold of the 'High flyer'.

Delhi dominated in all departments, with Naveen Kumar spearheading the attack, and inflicted the first All-Out of the match in the fifth minute to open up a 6-point lead.

Pawan secured a three-point Super Raid in the seventh minute to reduce the margin but Delhi maintained their momentum thanks to an unstoppable Naveen Kumar. They inflicted another All-Out in the 13th minute to open up an 11-point lead as Naveen Kumar secured another Super 10 (his 20th consecutive).

Naveen did make a rookie error as he failed to complete a raid on time which gave the Bulls some hope going into the break. Delhi led Bulls 26-18 at half time.

The Bulls opted for a more aggressive approach in the second half with the defenders consistently getting better of the Delhi raiders in do-or-die situations.

But what makes Delhi a complete unit is the presence of versatile all-rounders and the likes of Chandran Ranjit and Vijay stepped up with valuable raid and tackle points to always maintain a healthy lead of six or seven points.

Pawan Sehrawat completed his Super 10 but Delhi tackled him successfully on a consistent basis to not let the high flyer inspire a comeback.

Delhi were aware of what Pawan Sehrawat could do on the mat and were keen on keeping the league's best raider in the dugout as much as possible. Bulls' star raider spent more than 20 minutes away from the mat as they struggled to reduce Delhi's lead.

At the other end, Delhi ensured Naveen Kumar spent very little time on the bench, and that helped them sure another All-Out with three minutes left in the match to open up a 9-point lead.

Despite Pawan's attempts in the last few minutes, Delhi defenders held firm to clinch a berth in the grand finale on Saturday.

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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

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News Network
March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: Ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup against Australia, India spinner Poonam Yadav said that skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has given her a lot of support.

"Harmanpreet has been of immense support. When I got hit for a six in the first over, she came to me and said, 'Poonam, you're one of the most experienced players in the team, and we expect better of you'," Poonam said.

The 28-year-old experienced bowler has played 68 shortest format games for India and taken 94 wickets at an average of 22.66.

She has been in devastating form throughout the tournament and has bagged nine wickets so far.

"So, that kind of stirred something within me. I told myself if my captain has that much faith in me, I should be able to make a comeback," she said.

"I took a wicket in the very next ball, and didn't look back since. Now when I look back at that moment, it means so much in the context of my individual performance and run to the final," she added.

In the opening game against Australia at Sydney Showground, Poonam came within a whisker of the third hat-trick in Women's T20 World Cup history, dismissing Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry before Jess Jonassen was dropped.

The final of the tournament will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 8 -- International Women's Day.

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