Djokovic beats Federer to defend Indian Wells title

March 23, 2015

Indian Wells (USA), Mar 23: Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 to successfully defend his Indian Wells crown and claim his 50th career ATP title on Sunday.

The 27-year-old world number one from Serbia also captured his fourth Indian Wells crown and is now tied with world number two Federer for the most men's titles in the California desert.

Indian Wells title

"The trophy is very heavy," Djokovic told the crowd as he celebrated adding to the titles he won in 2008 and 2011.

It was another epic struggle in a long list of hardcourt battles between the two top players in the world, who have met 38 times with Swiss great Federer still holding a slight 20-18 edge.

Djokovic had lost his last two matches to Federer in straight sets after beating him in last year's Wimbledon final.

Djokovic also needed three sets to beat Federer in the 2014 Indian Wells title match.

Federer insisted people shouldn't read too much into this loss.

"I have beat him the last couple times. It is not like I lost 10 in a row," Federer said. "A lot depends on how well he serves and returns. We usually play in finals so we are both peaking at the same time."

The two have combined to win eight of the last 12 Indian Wells titles but this is the first time they have met in back-to-back finals.

Djokovic blasted eight aces, 26 winners and broke Federer five times in the two hour, 17 minute battle in front of a crowd of about 15,000 on inside the Tennis Garden stadium.

Djokovic surpassed his coach Boris Becker (49) to become the 12th player in Open Era history with 50 ATP Tour titles.

Even though he had the crowd on his side, Federer couldn't overcome his poor serving and 43 unforced errors.

"Novak did well to sustain the lead for most of the match," Federer said. "I think he found an extra gear in the end. Controlled aggression was the key out there."

Djokovic jumped all over Federer's serve, allowing the Swiss to win just 15 points off the second serve.

"He (Djokovic) returns so well off the second serve. That is what was also was tough today against him," Federer said. "I am disappointed the end was flat from my side."

Federer's best moments came in the last half of the middle set when he broke Djokovic for the first time in the match to rally from an earlier break and level the set at 4-4.

Federer won the second set tiebreaker 7-5 but he got some help from Djokovic who

made three double faults and then hammered a backhand long on set point.

But Djokovic broke Federer again early in the third to grab a 2-0 lead. The Swiss got one back in a 10-minute third game that extended the epic battle to the two-hour mark.

The tight third game went back and forth until Federer won it on the fifth break chance after Djokovic slammed a backhand into the net.

"My best spell was midway through the second to midway through the third set," Federer said. "It was disappointing to let it slip away."

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News Network
February 29,2020

Feb 29: India were all out for 242 in their first innings following a stunning battling collapse, triggered by paceman Kyle Jamieson on the opening day of the second cricket Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, here on Saturday.

India were steady at 194 for five at tea but lost wickets in quick succession after the play resumed. Jamieson returned figures of 14-3-45-5.

Hanuma Vihari top-scored for India with his combative 55 while Prithvi Shaw (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (54) hit contrasting half-centuries.

Virat Kohli's (3) poor run continued while his deputy Ajikya Rahane (7) also fell cheaply.

India lost last five wickets for 48 runs, of which 26 were contributed by last-wicket pair of Mohammed Shami (16) and Jasprit Bumrah (10).

Brief Scores:

India 1st innings: 242 all out in 63 overs. (H Vihari 55, P Shaw 54, C Pujara 54 batting; Kyle Jamieson 5/45, Tim Southee 2/38, ).

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February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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March 2,2020

Christchurch, Mar 2: India captain Virat Kohli on Monday said the under-fire Rishabh Pant has got a "lot of chances" but the team is not looking to try someone else in the youngster's place just yet as one player can't be singled out in a collective failure.

Pant has been under the scanner for the past one year because of his inconsistent run. His tally of 60 runs across four innings in the 0-2 Test series loss to New Zealand, which concluded here on Monday, has only amplified the debate whether it was prudent to leave out a keeper of Wriddhiman Saha's calibre and back Pant.

"...we have given him (Pant) a lot of chances in the home season as well starting from Australia. Then he was not playing for a bit. In turn he really worked hard on himself," Kohli came to Pant's defence after the series here.

"You need to figure out when is the right time to give someone else a chance. If you push people too early, they can lose confidence," he added.

"...collectively, we didn't perform. I don't believe in singling him out. We take the hit together as a group whether it's the batting group or as a team."

When asked if he believes Pant has taken his place in the side for granted, Kohli made it clear that the culture of this team doesn't encourage anyone to think along those lines.

"I don't see anyone taking his place for granted in this team. That's the culture we have set. People are told to take responsibilities and work hard. Whether it happens or not is a different thing. Then you can have a conversation with the players," he said.

"But no one has come here thinking I am going to play every game or I am indispensable," he added in no uncertain terms.

Kohli, just like head coach Ravi Shastri, made it clear that Pant can make a difference in overseas conditions and he won't like to deviate during future tours.

"The time that he didn't play, he really worked hard on his game. So we thought this is the right time because of his game and the way he plays because he can make a difference lower down the order.

"That was our planning behind it. We can't really fluctuate when it comes to what we planned," he added.

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