Dhawan's ton fashions Indian win

July 27, 2013

Dhawans_ton

Harare, Jul 27: Shikhar Dhawan capitalised on three reprieves to slam his third ODI century as India maintained their stranglehold over minnows Zimbabwe with a comfortable 58-run victory in the second cricket one-dayer here today.

Dhawan struck 116 as India recovered from early jolts to post a competitive 294 for eight and then restricted the hosts to 236 for nine to take a 2-0 series lead in the five-match series.

Put into bat, India were in a spot of bother at 65 for four at one stage before Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik (69) put on 167 runs for the fifth wicket to not only restore the innings but take them to a commanding total at the Harare Sports Club.

The Indians could have won the match by a much bigger margin but a defiant late-order resistance by Elton Chigumbara (46) and Prosper Utseya (52 not out) delayed the inevitable with the duo adding 88 runs for the seventh wicket to frustrate the tourists.

Opener Visu Sibanda (55) also provided a rollicking start to the Zimbabwean innings which somehow lost the momentum after his departure with five wickets falling within a span of 24 runs.

For India, Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the bowlers with four for 41 while leg-spinner Amit Mishra accounted for two wickets.

The two teams will play the third match of the series at the same venue here on Sunday.

Zimbabwe lost opener Sikandar Raza (20) early into their run-chase as the Pakistan-born batsman, who had top-scored with 82 in the first one-dayer, went for an expensive pull-shot against Unadkat and was holed out in the deep.

Next man-in, Hamilton Masakadza and Sibanda chose to play a more patient game and rotated the strike cleverly before opening up against Vinay Kumar's medium-pace and Mishra's googlies.

Both hit Mishra early on in his spell for a six each while Kumar was pulled for two boundaries in the opening over and was taken for 16 runs in his return over in the second spell as the second-wicket partnership looked threatening on an eased out pitch.

Sibanda reached his individual fifty with a hit off Mishra over long-on for six and, in the process, also took his side's total past 100-run mark. However, Zimbabwe could not hold onto their strong position for long as Sibanda once again failed to covert his innings into a big score after dominating the Indian bowlers with his powerful hits.

Sibanda, who had escaped with a missed stumping chance after running down the pitch to Mishra, threw away his wicket and fell to Unadkat in the 21st over. His 57-ball 55 knock was laced with seven fours and two sixes.

Four balls later, Brendan Taylor (nought) ran himself out as from 109 for one, it became 109 for three for the hosts.

Zimbabwe's misery further compunded when Ravindra Jadeja had Sean Williams (5) trapped right in front of the stumps.

Next over saw the soft dismissal of Masakadza who ended up giving a simple catch to Mohammed Shami at short fine-leg going for a sweep shot. Masakadza scored 47-ball 34 which had one six over the deep midwicket.

Malcolm Waller (2) fell for Mishra's deceptive googly as the dismissal left the run chase in tatters.

Chigumbara and Utseya waged a lonely battle and showed some resistance but their efforts did not prove enough in the end.

Earlier, the Zimbabweans spilled regulation catches and their wayward bowlers conceded 28 extras as India posted a daunting target.

Dhawan was dropped twice when on 14 and 70 and the Delhi-lad also benefited from a no-ball by Kyle Jarvis in the fifth over when he had added just three runs to his name.

The 27-year-old, however, hung on and hit his third ODI ton in his 17th match to save the Indians the blushes. He hit 11 fours and two sixes.

Karthik played his part with a composed 74-ball innings which was studded with six fours as the duo denied the Zimbabweans any success for 25.4 overs.

India ended their innings in style with tail-enders Vinay Kumar (27 not out) and Mohammed Shami (6 not out) scoring 23 from the last over with the help of three sixes and a four.

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Agencies
June 14,2020

New Delhi, Jun 14: From being a 20-year-old mischievous talented striker to 35-year-old, India captain Sunil Chhetri has seen Indian Football through thick and thin. Coaches, who have nourished the striker with utmost care to yield the best for the team have seen numerous changes from close quarters but one aspect has remained absolutely perpetual, resolute - Chhetri's never-say-die attitude and 'dedication.'

Igor Stimac, current head coach of the Blue Tigers recalled seeing Chhetri during the preparatory camp ahead of the King's Cup 2019 - his maiden assignment with the Blue Tigers.

The Croatian pointed out that despite being the senior-most member of the troop, "Chhetri craved to push maximum to achieve the result after the heartbreak in AFC Asian Cup."

"Dedicated, workaholic and team man -- those are some of the attributes which define Sunil Chhetri. When I first saw him last year, they were back to the National Team camp after a long gap following the AFC Asian Cup. A few boys were new but the fire under his belly probably was more than anyone else. That's the secret of his long career. Congratulations!" All India Football Federation (AIFF) quoted Stimac as saying.

Sukhwinder Singh, while reminiscing the India-Pakistan bilateral series in 2005, revealed that he wasn't sure about the youngster's credibility at all.

"I needed someone who had the trickery, didn't have the fear and had to be quick. Honestly, Sunil wasn't in my mind at all. He wasn't my first option. I had my doubts," Sukhwinder, coach during Chhetri's first national team endeavour, recalled.

He had seen the youngster from close quarters while coaching in JCT FC where Chhetri started blossoming and hogging the limelight. Chhetri, who scored more than 20 goals during his 3-season-long stay in JCT, had already shown signs of performing in the bigger stages which convinced Sukhwinder Singh picking him up for the high-octane bilateral series in Pakistan.

"I haven't seen anyone as dedicated as Sunil. I saw him maturing in JCT and there were flashes of what he could do in the future. I still remember his hunger. In 19 years of my coaching career, I haven't seen anyone as dedicated as Sunil. He remained undaunted and was never willing to shy away from working hard. Shouldering the responsibility for 15 years demands discipline and he keeps it above everything else," Sukhwinder maintained.

According to Stimac, Chhetri is someone who always runs the extra yard, breaks some more sweat during the training session which, in the process encourages the youngsters to emulate him. The entire process aids the cumulative progress of the team and raises the bar.

"I see him as someone who always pushes the bar in the training and never compromises with the regime. He drives the team and he is the character who defines the team. Numerous characters have glorified the Indian Football history and he's definitely one of them who have made his country proud," Stimac said.

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News Network
February 17,2020

Hamilton, Feb 17: Mayank Agarwal found form on his birthday and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India’s warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw here on Sunday.

The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings.

Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name.

To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell. There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper.

While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions. He didn’t curb his aggression, though, there were times when he was ready defend the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries.

Even though Pant is considered a better batsman than Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the New Zealand second innings is Agarwal’s poor run coming to an end. The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal’s footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn’t cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings. He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match.

Once he had got his form back, he didn’t come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 9: BWF World Championships defending champion PV Sindhu on Thursday cruised to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Masters after winning a second-round match.

The 24-year-old had the upper hand in the clash and thrashed Japan's Aya Ohori in straight games 21-10, 21-15 that lasted for 34-minute. The world number six will now play in her quarterfinal match on January 10.

Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal defeated South Korea's An Se Young 25-23, 21-12 in 38 minutes. The first game saw back and forth action between both shuttlers. In the end, Nehwal kept her cool to win the match.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old had outclassed Belgium's Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals.

Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after losing their matches to Japan's Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei respectively. 

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