Dominant RCB outplay MI by seven wickets

April 20, 2014

Dominant_RCBDubai, Apr 20: Putting up an all-round show, Royal Challengers Bangalore humbled defending champions Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in their IPL Twenty20 match at the Dubai International Stadium today.

After restricting Mumbai Indians to a modest 115 for nine, RCB cantered to their second successive win in the tournament in 17.3 overs.

RCB though had a shaky start when left-handed opener Nic Maddinson was cleaned up by pacer Lasith Malinga for 16 and Zaheer Khan wreaked havoc in the very next over with two wickets.

The left-arm pacer sent skipper Virat Kohli for a duck and trapped Sharjah hero Yuvraj Singh lbw for nought in the space of three deliveries.

Wicketkeeper Aditya Tare though ruined Zaheer's hat-trick chance when he dropped Yuvraj on the very next ball after Kohli's dismissal.

But Mumbai's cheer was shortlived as Parthiv Patel and AB de Villiers soon got a grip of the situation to stitch a 99-run unbeaten partnership.

Parthiv mixed the right dose of caution and aggression to score an unbeaten 57 off 45 deliveries. His innings was laced with seven boundaries.

De Villiers at the other end played the sheet-anchor's role to perfection, making an unbeaten 48-ball 45 with the help of three fours and two sixes.

Earlier put into bat, Mumbai batsmen failed to counter the clinical bowling display by. The Mumbai openers started on a decent note but soon lost the plot against the RCB pacers.

South African pacer Albie Morkel drew first blood after scalping Mike Hussey for 16 in the 4th over of the innings.

Tare also couldn't last long as pacer Varun Aaron induced a top-edge from the batsman which landed in the safe hands of Maddinson in the deep.

karthik_powers

Karthik, Duminy script Delhi win over KKR

Dubai, Apr 20: JP Duminy hit a timely unbeaten 52 after skipper Dinesh Karthik set the foundation with a fighting 56-run knock as Delhi Daredevils edged out Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in a thrilling IPL Twenty20 cricket match, here today.

Electing to bat, KKR posted a decent 166 for five, thanks to some brilliant batting by Robin Uthappa (55) and Manish Pandey (48) at Dubai International Stadium.

Delhi Daredevils batsmen responded to the challenge well and overhauled the target with three balls to spare.

Karthik batted superbly in the top order while Duminy finished it off in style with a six off Piyush Chawla.

Like KKR, Delhi too had to endure a bad start as Murali Vijay (0) was run out in the first over. Mayank Agrawal was off to a superb start as he hit some terrific shots but could not stay long at the crease as his short but entertaining 26-run knock was ended by Morne Morkel.

Karthik and Ross Taylor had a job at hand but the Kiwi batsman was bowled by Jacques Kallis and Delhi skipper was joined by JP Duminy at the crease.

Karthik batted intelligently as he rotated the strike well and waited for bad balls to punish. He hit Piyush Chawla for a six and a four in the 10th over, gradually moving towards a half-century.

He completed his fifty with a sweetly timed chip off Shakib Al Hasan in the cover region but could not finish it off for his side, becoming a victim of wily spinner Sunil Narine. Attempting a reverse sweep, Karthik could not read the line and was found plumb in front of the wicket.

Delhi now needed 44 runs from five overs. Manoj Tiwary was removed by Morkel when the batsman went for a big shot but failed to clear the boundary fielder. Jimmy Neesham hit a huge six off Chawla and Duminy hit two sixes off country-mate Morkel to get close to the target.

DD required six runs off the last over, Chawla started well with a dot and wicket of Neesham in the second to make it interesting. Duminy sealed the fate of his side with a six off Chawla in the next ball. Karthik's 56 came off 40 balls with seven boundaries including two sixes while left-handed Duminy faced only 35 balls, hitting three fours and as many sixes in his match-winning knock.

Earlier, Robin Uthappa (55) and Manish Pandey (48) batted sensibly under pressure to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to a competitive 166 for five against Delhi Daredevils in an IPL Twenty20 cricket match, here today.

Uthappa patiently added 64 runs for the third wicket with Pandey and then quickly shared a 57-run stand for the fourth wicket Shakib Al Hasan (30 not out) to lift KKR to a decent total after electing to bat.

KKR had lost both the openers cheaply but Uthappa and Pandey set the platform for an exciting finish as they collected 103 runs in the last 10 overs.

Pandey's 48 came off 42 balls with five shots to the fence while Uthappa took 41 balls for his knock, which had six boundaries.

Hasan also played a crucial role in KKR's progress with his unbeaten cameo off 22 balls. He hit a six and two fours.

Pacemen Mohammed Shami and Nathan Coulter-Nile provided a sensational start to Delhi by removing both the openers before they could even open their accounts.

Shami had dangerman Jacques Kallis caught at first slip for a golden duck while Coulter-Nile extended Gautam Gambhir's poor run by having the KKR skipper caught in leg-slip region for his second successive duck in the tournament.

Shami struggled for control but swung the ball both ways to trouble the KKR batsmen. In bowling friendly conditions, boundaries were hard to come, so Pandey and Uthappa relied on singles and twos to steady the innings.

KKR innings' first four came in the fifth over when Pandey pulled one from Shami to mid-wicket boundary. The two batsmen batted cautiously and took their side to 63 for two at half-way stage.

Pandey broke the shackles by hitting Shabaz Nadeem for two successive boundaries but the left-arm spinner got his revenge by castling the batsman in the last ball of 11th over.

Hasan was aggressive from the start as he lifted Nadeem for a six over mid-wicket and Uthappa creamed off a six and a four off Jimmy Neesham to take KKR total 112 for three from 15 overs.

Uthappa departed shortly after completing his fifty but Hasan stayed on smartly to end the innings in style.

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Agencies
February 23,2020

Madrid, Feb 23: Lionel Messi scored four goals and Barcelona reclaimed the top spot in the La Liga as Real Madrid suffered a surprise defeat by Levante last night, a week before the Clasico.

Madrid's nightmare afternoon was made worse by another injury to Eden Hazard, who was forced off in the second half of their 1-0 defeat in Valencia and is now doubtful to face Manchester City on Wednesday in the Champions League.

"It doesn't look good," said Real coach Zinedine Zidane afterwards.

Messi, meanwhile, ridiculed talk of a goal drought by scoring four against Eibar after four games without one, while emergency signing Martin Braithwaite made two assists off the bench, teeing up Messi and then Arthur Melo in injury-time.

Their 5-0 rout, coupled with Madrid's defeat, means Barca move back to the summit of La Liga, two points ahead of Zidane's side ahead of next Saturday's showdown at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It amounts to a considerable shift in momentum, with Barcelona away at Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday.

Madrid host City a day later and the plan had been for Hazard to regain form and fitness in what was only his second start since returning from three months out with a broken right foot.

But the Belgian sat in the dug-out with an ice pack around the same foot after going off and Zidane suggested it was a repeat injury after the match. "It can be weak where you've had an injury," he said.

For Madrid, playing catch-up again next weekend will be a particularly heavy psychological blow, especially given the series of off-field problems engulfing Barcelona in recent weeks.

Yet on the pitch, Messi showed no sign of distraction as the 32-year-old completed the second fastest of his now 36 league hat-tricks, after less than 40 minutes at Camp Nou.

"There's nothing left to do but stand up and applaud," Eibar wrote on Twitter afterwards.

"I won't wash my kit after hugging Messi," said Braithwaite.

Braithwaite's arrival from Leganes drew criticism after Barcelona capitalised on a curious La Liga rule that allows clubs to sign outside of the transfer window if they have lost a player to serious injury.

Brilliant Messi

Messi quickly got to work, scoring a brilliant first goal in the 14th minute after collecting the ball centrally, around 30 yards out. He had three Eibar defenders in front of him but found a way through, nutmegging Anaitz Arbilla before chipping delicately into the corner.

The second came in the 37th minute as Sergio Busquets found Arturo Vidal, who feathered a flick into Messi's path. Messi surged forward, past his stumbling opponents, and fired in.

His third, three minutes later, was the simplest of the trio and arrived only after he tried to play in Antoine Griezmann. His generosity was rewarded as a sloppy Griezmann touch meant the ball cannoned back to Messi, who apologetically poked in.

Coach Quique Setien was able to take Griezmann off with 18 minutes left and introduce Braithwaite for his debut. Braithwaite's first contribution was a skewed cross but things improved immeasurably from there, as two passes across goal gave Messi his fourth and Arthur his first.

Madrid were never in control of a chaotic contest against Levante but might have taken the lead if Hazard had done better with a long ball over the top from Marcelo, which he failed to control and then scuffed into the hands of Aitor Fernandez.

He limped off and Madrid lost their way, finally punished with 11 minutes left by a straight ball through to Morales. Luka Modric, exposed on the right side of Madrid's defence, was unable to recover and Morales caught Courtois by surprise by firing early past the goalkeeper and into the top corner.

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News Network
March 10,2020

New Delhi, Mar 10: Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) and world number one Amit Panghal (52kg) were among three Indian boxers who secured Olympic berths by advancing to semifinals of the Asian Qualifiers here on Monday, taking the total number of the country's Tokyo-bound pugilists to eight.

Second-seeded Mary Kom notched up a comfortable 5-0 win over Philippines' Irish Magno in her quarterfinal bout for a ticket to her second Olympic Games. She won a bronze in the 2012 London Olympics when women's boxing was first introduced at the showpiece.

The 37-year-old will square off against China's Yuan Chang in the semifinals. Chang is a former Youth Olympics champion.

Earlier, world silver-medallist and top seed Panghal edged out familiar foe Carlo Paalam of Philippines in a 4-1 split verdict to be assured of his maiden Olympic appearance and a medal at the qualifiers.

In the last Indian bout of the day, world bronze-medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) upstaged second seed Namuun Monkhor of Mongolia 5-0 to secure her first Olympic place.

With this, the number of Indian boxers securing Olympic berths went up to eight after Satish Kumar (+91kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg) advanced to the semifinals on Sunday.

"I dedicate my Olympic quota to my uncle Raj Narayan, it's his birthday and he is someone who gives me a lot of courage," said Panghal after his bout.

World bronze-winner and Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Manish Kaushik, however, lost 2-3 to third seed Chinzorig Baatarsukh of Mongolia after an intense battle but is not out of contention for an Olympic berth just yet.

Kaushik has to win the box-off between losing quarterfinalists as the top six boxers will claim Tokyo tickets in the 63kg category. He will face Australia's Commonwealth Games champion Harrison Garside in the box-off. The two clashed in the CWG final in 2018 with Garside ending up on the winning side.

Panghal started India's winning run on Monday by managing to pull off a close win.

The 23-year-old, who is the reigning Asian Games and Asian Championships gold-medallist, had earlier beaten Paalam in the semifinals of the 2018 Asian Games and the quarterfinals of 2019 world championships, which were also split decisions.

"I followed the instructions given by my coaches. I ensured that he didn't get on top of me. I think I was pretty consistent in all three rounds," Panghal said.

Next up for Panghal is China's Jianguan Hu, who stunned world bronze-medallist and fourth seed Kazakh Saken Bibossinov 5-0.

"I have beaten him in the Asian Championships and I know how to get the better of him," Panghal said of his next opponent.

The Haryana lad didn't exactly look at his best during the bout but his trademark counter-attacking game fetched him the desired result against a rival, who is challenging him more with every fresh encounter.

Mary Kom, on the other hand, put out a near-perfect performance against the very spirited Magno. The Manipuri dictated the pace of the bout, drawing from her huge reservoir of experience to put Magno on the backfoot with a very effective counter-attacking strategy.

Simranjjit, also an Asian silver-medallist, will face third seed Shih-Yi Wu of Taiwan in the semifinals after a fine performance against Monkhor. Simranjit's right hand connected accurately all through.

Kaushik, who was up against an Asian Games silver-medallist, started well but lost steam in the face of relentless body shots by Baatarsukh, a two-time podium finisher at the Asian Championships.

Baatarsukh had lost to Kaushik in the second round of the world championships last year and he exacted revenge with an aggressive takedown of the Indian, especially in the final three minutes.

However, former junior world champion Sakshi Chaudhary (57kg) failed to secure an Olympic berth after going down to Korea's Im Aeji in the quarterfinals.

The 19-year-old Chaudhary lost 0-5 to Im, who is also a former world youth champion. Only the semifinalists are entitled to an Olympic berth in the women's 57kg category of the ongoing event.

Her next shot at Tokyo qualification would be the world qualifiers in May, provided she is selected for it.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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