Even when down, we didn't feel out: Sania

July 12, 2015

London, Jul 12: Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India (R) talks during their Women's Doubles Final match against Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova of Russia at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London.sania

Faced with opponents who had them running for cover with a fierce serve all through, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis said sheer belief pulled them through as they lifted the Wimbledon women's doubles trophy here.

Sania, the first India to clinch the title, and Hingis were seeded top but were pushed to the brink by second-seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina before prevailing 5-7 7-6 (4) 7-5 in a thrilling final here.

"For a match like this, the No.1 and No.2 seeds playing, it was the best match you could have asked for for the tournament. It was unbelievably exciting. It was exciting to play. I really hope it was exciting to watch, too," Sania said in the post-match press conference.

"Even when we were down, we knew we were giving everything we had on the court. These are the moments we worked years and years and all our lives for. This is what we play for. We feel really honored to have won that match really," she added.

Sania said though she and Hingis were doing the catching up for most part, they did have their chances all through.

"We had chances every game. I don't know why, we both believed. Even at 2-5, we didn't feel like we were down and out of the match. It was about one break, and it really was," Sania said.

"All we said to each other was, 'Make them win the match. Let them win the match,' not for us to lose the match, which means we had to put the ball inside the court, do the right things. If they still come out, serving unbelievable the whole match, we knew that at some point hopefully it was going to come down. If it didn't, you say, 'Too good,' shake hands," she added.

Hingis, on her part, said they occasionally waited for the fortunes to favour them as the Russians were serving just too well.

"Sixty-four miles an hour match point second serve, it was like, 'OK, praying for it.' I'm like, 'Watch out [Sania], don't get killed.' She (Vesnina) missed it thankfully. At 40-love, you just hope for putting the balls in and make it happen," she said.

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News Network
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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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: India is not at risk of losing hosting rights for next year's Twenty20 World Cup despite its cricket board's failure to secure a tax exemption for the event, a key BCCI official has told Reuters.

Tax exemptions for International Cricket Council (ICC) events are listed as a requirement in host agreements and the BCCI was supposed to confirm they had secured one by May 18.

ESPNcricinfo, citing correspondence between the two bodies, has reported that the ICC has threatened to shift the tournament away from India over the issue.

However, BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal told Reuters that would not happen and that negotiations were continuing.

"There is no risk to the tournament," he said by telephone.

"That is a work in progress. We are discussing it with the ICC and we'll resolve it."

The BCCI encountered a similar problem when it hosted the event in 2016 when the government refused to provide a tax exemption, and there has been no change in New Delhi's stance despite the board's appeals.

Failure to secure that exemption in 2016 saw the ICC withhold an equivalent sum from India's share of revenue from the governing body's grants and it appears to be taking an even harder line this time around.

"There are certain timelines within the agreements that we collectively work towards to ensure we can deliver successful world class events and continue to invest in the sport of cricket," an ICC spokesperson told Reuters.

"In addition to this the ICC Board agreed clear timelines for the resolution of the tax issues which we are guided by."

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