Defending champions India beat South Africa by 8 wickets, book semi-final spot

Agencies
June 12, 2017

London, Jul 12: Defending champions India outclassed South Africa in all departments of the game to enter the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory on sunday.

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India will meet Bangladesh in the semi-finals in Birmingham on Thursday.

The Proteas lived up to their 'Perennial Chokers' tag in a virtual quarter-final clash that turned out to be a thoroughly one-sided encounter.

Shikhar Dhawan (78 off 83 balls) and skipper Virat Kohli (76 off 101 balls) made it look like a walk in the park as India chased down a target of 192 in only 38 overs.

It was Dhawan's third 50-plus score in the competition, while skipper Kohli made amends for a rare failure against Sri Lanka in style, notching up his 41st ODI half-century.

On a day when it mattered the most, India brought their A-game to the fore while AB de Villiers' men wilted under pressure, as it has been with them in high-stakes games.

The Indian bowling was disciplined, the fielding exceptional with three run-outs, and then there was a professional batting performance.

If it's the Champions Trophy, Dhawan can hardly put a foot wrong as he hit 12 fours and a flicked six off Morne Morkel over deep square leg.

If Dhawan muscled the ball through the off-side cordon, Kohli caressed it with care, hitting seven fours and a six as the duo added 128 runs for the second wicket.

A rhythm player to the core, Dhawan has made the best use of the second lease of life that he has got in this Champions Trophy. The ferocity with which he drove was a treat to watch. A lot of his shots were in the arc between cover and mid-off. When Imran Tahir bowled short, he pulled him with disdain.

Skipper Kohli also made merry with no pressure. He saw off Morkel's first spell before teeing off with a cover-driven six off rookie pacer Andile Phehlykwayo.

He later used the extra pace of Morkel to hit him down the ground, whip him through mid-wicket and slash the pacer over the off-side cordon.

By the time India's total touched 100, the match was as good as over. It was Yuvraj Singh, who finished the match with a pulled six off JP Duminy.

Earlier, an impressive bowling performance that was complemented by fantastic fielding effort, saw the holders skittle out South Africa for a paltry 191 in 44.3 overs after winning the toss.

It was yet another embarrassing batting collapse after the openers put on 76 runs. The world's number one team lost the last eight wickets for 51 runs after being comfortably placed at 116 for one at one stage.

Two run-outs of skipper AB de Villiers (16) and David Miller (1) within the space of six deliveries triggered the slide from which they could never recover, with almost all the Indian bowlers succeeding in choking the runs.

India bowled an astounding 141 dot balls which are equivalent to 23.3 maiden overs out of the 44.2 overs that South Africa batted.

India took control of the match in the second powerplay (between overs 11-40), in which South Africa managed only 143 runs, losing six wickets in the process.

After a poor match against Sri Lanka, Ravindra Jadeja (1/39 in 10 overs) was at his accurate best, stifling the runs in those middle overs in tandem with comeback man Ravichandran Ashwin (1/43 in 9 overs).

Man of the Match Jasprit Bumrah (2/28 in 8 overs) was on target with his blockhole deliveries and cleverly mixed short balls, which did the trick.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/22 in 7.3 overs) was on a hat-trick as he not only polished off the tail but also maintained a brilliant channel outside the off-stump, making life difficult for the top-order batsmen.

Even Hardik Pandya (1/52 in 10 overs) gave a much better account of himself, bowling as many as 29 dot balls and also got Faf du Plessis (36) to drag one back onto his stumps.

Ashwin and Jadeja may not have got too many wickets but removed openers Hashim Amla (35) and Quinton de Kock (53, 72 balls) after a sedate start.

It was a safe start by South Africa with both Amla and India's nemesis in recent times, De Kock, not taking any undue risks in the first 10 overs (first powerplay) that yielded only 35 runs.

They were restrictive but both Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah couldn't produce too many wicket-taking deliveries during that phase.

The next seven overs saw South Africa score another 36 runs with Amla's return catch being dropped by Pandya, who erred in length. Amla flicked him over square leg boundary for a six.

Finally, it was Ashwin who got the much-needed breakthrough when Amla tried to cut a delivery that didn't have much width, only for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to complete a smart catch.

Du Plessis and De Kock also had a steady partnership of 40 runs for the second wicket before things went all awry. De Kock tried to sweep a straight ball onto the stumps to be plumb in-front.

De Villiers, who has been in horrible form, couldn't make his ground as Dhoni whipped off the bails in a flash.

The In-form Miller was involved in a horrible mix-up with Du Plessis to end up at the same end.

South Africa slumped to 142 for four from 140 for two in a space of six deliveries. India never took their foot off the pedal after the two run-outs.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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News Network
February 18,2020

Feb 18: There are no half measures for fit-again New Zealand pace spearhead Trent Boult who is ready to challenge India captain Virat Kohli on his return to international cricket during the two-Test series starting in Wellington on Friday. Boult was out of action for the past six weeks due to a fracture on his right hand sustained during the Boxing Day Test against Australia and missed out on the limited-overs leg of the India series. Back for the traditional format, the left-arm fast bowler made his priorities clear ahead of the first Test.

"That's personally why I play the game, to get guys like that (Kohli) out and test myself against them, so I can't wait to get stuck in. But he's an exceptional player. Everyone knows how great he is," Boult said, sending out a warning after landing in the capital city for the opening Test.

New Zealand's last Test series in Australia was a nightmare as they lost 0-3 and India will be a tough test for the Black Caps.

"They are a great side and they are leading the ICC Test Championship. They are very clear on how they wanted to play the game. It was a tough learning curve in Australia. It's good to see where we are in terms of bouncing back," said Boult.

The Basin Reserve track will have a lot for the seamers and in conducive conditions, a wily customer like Boult will prove to be a handful for the travellers.

"I'm preparing for a solid wicket. It generally is very good here and goes the full distance (five days). I do enjoy playing here, the history that's involved, and it's going to be an exciting week building up. I can't wait to get out there," said the 30-year-old who has taken 256 wickets from 65 Tests.

It was frustrating for him to watch his side get walloped 0-5 in the T20 series but exhilarating when it got its mojo back in the subsequent one-dayers.

The Black Caps won 3-0 in the 50-over format. "I think it is what it is. I have just got to put the last six or so weeks behind me and just back myself to get out there and do my thing," said Boult, who warmed up by playing a club game at the picturesque Taupo ground.

Boult did find a bit of humour in his injury which, for him, was more of an accident.

"If I had to break a hand, (it would) probably be my right one. Breaking a hand, you don't really know how much you use it unless you break it," said Boult.

"I was pushing in off the long run. I think a couple of the clubbies from Taupo really enjoyed that. It was a good afternoon," added the pacer, who sent down eight overs in a friendly game for his club Cadets.

While bowling isn't a problem, Boult is hoping that catching doesn't become an issue.

"Everything has gone very well but catching will be the biggest issue for me," he said.

Professionally, Boult had to lie low due to injury, but it was also a good break as he and wife Lana welcomed their second child.

"Having some time away from the game and having my second son a couple of weeks ago came at quite a good time," said Boult.

Fighting fit, all he wants now is to get hold of a red kookaburra and get a few to tail into Kohli and company.

"I am hungry to be here and can't wait to get back in the white and get the red ball moving around," he said.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan deeply regrets his "silly mistake" of not reporting a corrupt approach by an Indian bookie to the ICC, leading to his one year suspension from the game.

Shakib was banned for two years, one year of it suspended, for failing to report corrupt approaches during an IPL edition by an alleged Indian bookie named Deepak Aggarwal.

"I took the approaches too casually When I met the anti-corruption guy and told them and they knew everything. Gave them all the evidence and they knew everything that happened," Shakib told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"To be honest, that's the only reason I was banned for a year, otherwise I'd have been banned for five or 10 years," he added on the ICC's investigation.

The 33-year-old, who was in brilliant form before the ban, amassing 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the UK, said he regrets how he went about the situation.

"But I think that was a silly mistake I made. Because with my experience and the amount of international matches I've played and the amount of ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct classes I took, I shouldn't have made that decision, to be honest."

Lesson learnt, Shakib's advice to all young criceters is to never take any such message lightly.

"I regret that. No one should take such messages or calls (from bookies) lightly or leave it away. We must inform the ICC ACSU guy to be on the safe side and that's the lesson I learnt, and I think I learnt a big lesson," he added.

The all-rounder, whose ban ends on October 29, said he became a bit arrogant and never felt he was doing anything wrong by not reporting the bookie's approach immediately.

"Because you do most things right in your life, you tend to get arrogant with some decisions. You may not realise but you're doing wrong by the books. It never came to my mind that I am doing something wrong

"It was just a feeling of 'okay, what's going to happen, leave it' and I continued with my life. But that's the mistake I made. And that happens," Shakib said.

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