Dwayne Smith’s blistering knock leads CSK to sixth consecutive win

May 6, 2014

New Delhi, May 6: Delhi 178-5 in 20 overs: Dinesh Karthik led a collective batting effort with a fighting fifty as Delhi put up a formidable total. Karthik (51 runs, 36b, 4x4, 3x6) combined well with former CSK player Murali Vijay (35 runs, 30b, 2x4, 1x6) for a splendid 71-run partnership for the third wicket after a shaky start.

Dwayne_SmithJP Duminy (28 no) and Kedar Jadhav (29 no) provided superb finishing touches with their fiery cameos as DD put on their best total of the season on board after being put into bat.

Duminy blasted paceman Mohit Sharma for four boundaries in a row in the 18th over while Jadhav finished the innings with a flourish by hitting the same bowler for two sixes and a four in the final over. The two batsmen raised an unbeaten 58-run stand in only 5.4 overs.

The DD openers took some time to settle as the ball was seaming a bit initially but after getting their eye in, they cut loose. Young paceman Ishwar Pandey bowled a rare maiden over but he was taken to task in his next by Quinton de Kock, who hit him for two sixes after Vijay struck a magnificent straight boundary.

The South African southpaw needlessly ran himself out while attempting a third run.

Skipper Kevin Pietersen failed to come out of his lean patch as he was dismissed for a golden duck. The England batsman failed to read the line of a Mohit delivery and found his stumps shattered in the process.

CSK: When you've got Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith (79 runs, 51b, 4x4, 8x6) in such form, even the most challenging target seems easy to chase down. The two put up their fourth fifty-run partnership (82 runs in 11.2 overs) to put Chennai in the driving seat from the off.

The first three overs were relatively quiet but then Smith decided to attack and cracked a hat-trick of sixes in the 4th over - bowled by Jaydev Unadkat. But from then onward, if you observe Chennai's

innings, there weren't too many big overs — what CSK did right was get a boundary almost every six balls which meant the pressure never got to their batsmen.

McCullum was dropped in the 7th over by Jadhav but that cost Delhi just nine runs. However, it could have derailed CSK's momentum. McCullum was eventually out for 32 (off 35b, 5x4) when he was caught at long-off in the 12th over.

If Delhi thought that would turn the tide in their favour, then it wasn't to be. Suresh Raina (47 runs, 27b, 6x4, 1x6) came on and started pounding the bowlers. He hit two fours in the first three deliveries he faced and provided able support to Smith.

Smith meanwhile, was in another zone. Nothing got past him — the West Indian smacking eight sixes and four fours as Delhi's bowlers tried and failed to fox him. The match was actually won in the 18th over itself with Smith heaving Shami for two fours and a six — CSK needing only 16 off 12 after that over.

When they eventually got him, it was too late. Smith skied one and got caught by Vijay in the 19th over (bowled by Parnell, conceded just five runs) to make for a slightly nervous ending for CSK than anticipated. They needed 11 off the last over but Dhoni (12 off 5b) smacked a six over long-on in the 2nd ball and then took a quick double before slapping a four through extra-cover to end it in style.

Turning point: Dinesh Karthik's wicket was probably what stopped Delhi from posting an even bigger total. The timing of that wicket (13th over) allowed CSK some breathing space and took out Delhi's most effective batsman from the equation.

Man of the match: Smith for his blistering 79-run innings. He's in absolute top form.

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News Network
May 27,2020

Bengaluru, May 27: Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that he was never able to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq in the nets.

The Rawalpindi Express praised the former Pakistan skipper and said Inzamam could see the ball one second earlier than the rest of the batsmen could.

"Honestly, I don't think I could ever get him (Inzamam) out, he had the time and I always felt he saw the ball a second earlier than the rest of the batsmen because I had a complicated action unlike Brett Lee, I felt I could never dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I couldn't get him out in the nets, I think he could see the ball a second before anyone else," he added.

Inzamam played 120 Tests and 378 ODIs for Pakistan.

He finished his career with 20,569 runs across all formats.

The right-handed batsman called time on his career in 2007 and he played his last Test against South Africa in Lahore.

On the other hand, Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

The Rawalpindi Express last played an ODI in 2011 as he played against New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: Five centrally contracted Indian cricketers including Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have been issued notices by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for failing to disclose their whereabouts as the BCCI cited "password glitch" as the reason for delay.

The other players to have received the notice include women stars Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, who are among the five cricketers in the 110 strong National Registered Testing Pool (NRTP). Speaking to PTI, NADA DG Navin Agarwal confirmed that BCCI has sent an official explanation for their five NRTP players' failure to submit whereabouts.

"There are two ways to fill up the whereabouts form in the ADAMS (Anti Doping Administration & Management Systems) software. Either athlete does it himself or association fills it up on his or her behalf," Agarwal said. "Now athletes in some discipline aren't educated enough or do not have access to internet and find themselves unable to handle the whereabouts clause of the ADAMS or upload the filled up

"They use assistance of their concerned federations. So federations have accepted responsibility of uploading their whereabouts," Agarwal said.

He said cricketers too at times find it tough to complete the process on their own. "Similarly in cricket also, although these people are well qualified and they can do it, perhaps they don't have the time for whatever reasons, so the federation concerned, the BCCI has taken upon itself the responsibility of uploading their whereabouts." So why didnt BCCI upload the the three-month whereabouts this time?

"Well they have given an explanation which appears to be reasonable but a decision will be taken. They have said that there has been a glitch with regards to password in ADAMS. Now they have said that issue has been resolved," Agarwal added. NADA DG added that "BCCI's explanation will be discussed as to whether it will be counted as one of three filing failures or not. It will be decided on the explanation given and how they (BCCI) proceed from here."

While country has been under lockdown, the rule to submit three months of whereabouts is mandatory. Three such failures to disclose leads to one Anti Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), which could lead up to two years of suspension upon hearing.

While BCCI has "officially gagged" its employees from talking to the media, it couldn't be ascertained that why as normal a glitch as a password error took days to resolve. A BCCI veteran, who has been privy to cricket operations, asked why the five cricketers were not told to upload the form themselves.

"This was lockdown period where they are not living out of suitcases. Some of the names have also engaged in multiple instagram chats and podcasts which their agents are managing," he said.

"If cricket operations team were having a glitch in fixing password, well the five cricketers could have been asked to do so and they would have done it individually with some guidance. "Probably NADA would be lenient this time but if it becomes an official warning, then who's responsible," he added.

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News Network
March 31,2020

New Delhi, Mar 31: Australia batsman David Warner on Tuesday decided to shave off his head to show support towards all those people who are working relentlessly on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.

After shaving off his head, Warner also challenged his Australian team-mate Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli to do the same.

Warner, shared a time-lapse video on Instagram, of him shaving his head, and captioned the post as: "Been nominated to shave my head in support of those working on the frontline #Covid-19 here is a time-lapse. I think my debut was the last time I recall I've done this. Like it or not".

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australia's death toll stands at 19, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.

As of 8 am today, 4460 people across Australia have tested positive for COVID-19.

The World Health Organisation had termed coronavirus as a 'pandemic' on March 11.

Earlier in the day, Australia Test skipper Tim Paine also confirmed that the side's tour of Bangladesh is unlikely due to the virus spread.
"You don't have to be Einstein to realise (the Bangladesh tour) is probably unlikely to go ahead, particularly in June. Whether it's cancelled or pushed back, we're not quite sure at the moment," cricket.com.au quoted Paine as saying.

Currently, Australia has 296 points in the WTC from 10 matches, while India has 360 points from nine matches.

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