DSK Shivajians Dents Mohun Bagan's Title Hopes in I-League

April 10, 2016

Barabati, Apr 10: Mohun Bagan's hopes of retaining the I-League title virtually went up in smokes after they were held to a 3-3 draw by DSK Shivajians in an enthralling I-League contest at the Vidyasagar Krirangan in Barasat.

DSK

In a match that had several twists and turns, Mohun Bagan took a lead through Cornell Glenn (26th and 45+1st) but only to crumble under pressure as Derrick Pereira's side showed a lot of promise through a double strike from Juan Quero Barasso (30th and 33rd).

Haitian forward Sony Norde returned to the playing XI and revived the home team's hopes with his 42nd minute strike before Glenn made it 3-2 in an action packed first-half but it was the Pune outfit's Cameroonian recruit Aser Dipanda who gave the thousands of Mohun Bagan fans heartbreak with his 75th minute strike.

Continuing his fine show Dipanda, who had scored an equaliser against former champions Bengaluru FC in his side's previous match, scored a classic header from a Israil Gurung centre.

Mohun Bagan pressed hard for the winning goal but only to return luckless as they would rue Norde's 27th minute strike which seemed to be a goal as Subrata Pal saved the shot apparently from inside the goal-line.

Earlier, after being set up by substitute Jeje Lalpekhlua, Glenn scored on the rebound to give the home side the lead in front of a rousing support.

A minute later, they almost doubled the lead with Norde firing a shot from the left and goalkeeper Pal latching on to the ball.

The replays showed the Shivajians' custodian inside the goal-line in his follow through but without a goal-line technology, an unlucky Mohun Bagan had to return empty handed.

Adding to the misery, the Shivajians equalised in the space of four minutes with Quero scoring from a Douhou Pierre pass, beating an advancing Debjit Majumder.

Quero silenced the stadium with his double strike in a matter of few minutes when the Spaniard shot diagonally from the left with Debajit beaten by the pace of the ball.

With his partner missing a minute before, it was Norde who restored parity when he found an opening from the top of the box, beating three defenders on his way with his powerful delivery.

Glen brought the atmosphere alive with his goal, finishing with his left-footer that beat a diving Majumder for a crucial lead.

But once again, Mohun Bagan's defence crumbled under pressure as they extended their winless streak to four matches with their last win coming against Mumbai FC on March 13.

The draw meant it's an advantage for 2013-14 champions Bengaluru FC who are second placed with 26 points from 13 matches while their tomorrow's opponents East Bengal have 24 from 13.

Mohun Bagan, who now have 27 points from 15 matches, will be hoping against hope to retain the title as they face Bengaluru FC at home in their concluding round match on April 24.

Coach Sanjoy Sen, who returned after serving a four-match ban, effected three changes in his lineup. While Norde replaced Jeje Lalpekhlua, Prabir Das and Sanjay Balmuchu came in place for Pritam Kotal and Kinshuk Debnath in a defense rejig.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 9,2020

Kuala Lampur, Jan 9: Saina Nehwal and reigning world champion P V Sindhu produced dominating performances to progress to the women's singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Sixth seed Sindhu notched up a commanding 21-10 21-15 victory over Japan's Aya Ohori in a pre-quarterfinal match lasting just 34 minutes. It was Sindhu's ninth successive win over Ohori.

The 24-year-old Indian, who won the World Championships in Basel last year, will take on world number 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals after the Chinese Taipei shuttler got the better of South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun 21-18 16-21 21-10.

Saina, who had won the Indonesia Masters last year before going through a rough patch, dispatched eight seed An Se Young of South Korea 25-23 21-12 after a thrilling 39-minute contest to make the last eight.

This is Saina's first win over the South Korean, who got the better of the Indian in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year.

The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will next take on Olympic champion Carolina Marin.

Saina had defeated Lianne Tan of Belgium 21-15 21-17 in the opening round on Wednesday.

In the men's singles, India's challenge ended after both Sameer Verma and HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round.

While Verma lost to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia 19-21 20-22, Prannoy was shown the door by top seed Kento Momota of Japan 14-21 16-21.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.