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Gayle dazzles in Kings XI victory

Agencies
April 16, 2018

Chris Gayle showed that he was not yet a spent force as he smashed his second fastest fifty in the IPL to help Kings XI Punjab defeat Chennai Super Kings by four runs in a thrilling game here on Sunday night.

The 38-year-old Jamaican, who twice went unsold at the auction and was later picked up by the Punjab franchise for a base price of Rs 2 crore, played a trademark innings toying with the opposition attack. Playing his first game of the season, he hammered 63 off 33 balls and raced to his half-century off 22 balls. His fastest fifty had come off 17 balls, against Pune in 2013. His knock was studded with four sixes and seven boundaries.

Riding on Gayle’s knock, Kings XI posted 197 for seven. CSK, with captain MS Dhoni leading the way, made a strong chase. Dhoni hammered an unbeaten 79 off just 44 balls but even he couldn’t take CSK past the line. Ambati Rayudu was the other CSK batsmen to offer some challenge, hitting 49 but the target proved too stiff in the end. CSK ended at 193 for five.

Earlier, Gayle weaved a 96-run opening partnership alongside the in-form K L Rahul (37 off 22), setting up the platform for a big score. Mayank Agarwal (30 off 19) and Karun Nair (29 off 17) too chipped in with useful contributions. For CSK, Shardul Thakur and Imran Tahir picked up two scalps each while Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo got a wicket each. Harbhajan Singh gave Chennai the first breakthrough when Rahul was caught by Dwayne Bravo, but by then KXIP were comfortably placed and reached 100 in just 8.4 overs. Two overs later Gayle too departed, handing over a simple catch to Imran Tahir at short fine leg off Shane Watson’s bowling. Tahir then dealt a double blow but KXIP eventually reached a strong total.

Scoreboard

KINGS XI PUNJAB: Rahul c Bravo b Harbhajan 37; Gayle c Tahir b Watson 63; Agarwal c Ravindra Jadeja b Tahir 30; Yuvraj c Dhoni b Thakur 20; Finch lbw Tahir 0; Karun c Ravindra Jadeja b Bravo 29; Ashwin c Dhoni b Thakur 14; Tye (not out) 3; Sran (not out) 0; Extras: (W-1) 1. Total (for seven wickets, in 20 overs) 197.

Fall of wickets: 1-96, 2-127, 3-149, 4-149, 5-157, 6-190, 7-195.

Bowling: Chahar 3-0-37-0, Harbhajan 4-0-41-1, Thakur 3-0-33-2, Tahir 4-0-34-2, Watson 2-0-15-1, Bravo 4-0-37-1.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS:  Watson c Barinder b Mohit 11; Vijay c Barinder b Tye 12; Rayudu (run out) 49; Billings lbw Ashwin 9; Dhoni (not out) 79; Jadeja c Ashwin b Tye 19; Bravo (not out) 1; Extras (LB-2, W-11) 13. Total (for five wickets, in 20 overs) 193.

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-39, 3-56, 4-113, 5-163.

Bowling: Sran 4-0-37-0; Mohit 4-0-47-1; Tye 4-0-47-2; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3-0-18-0; Ashwin 4-0-32-1;Yuvraj 1-0-10-0.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!

"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.

The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.

"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.

Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .

Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.

While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.

Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.

Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.

"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.

During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".

In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate." 

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News Network
January 6,2020

Jan 6: Former India opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday said he would prefer K L Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in the T20 World Cup later this year.

Former India opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday said he would prefer K L Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in the T20 World Cup later this year.

Dhawan is returning to international cricket after a long gap. During the senior left-handed batsman's absence, Rahul has emerged as one of the top contenders for the opener's slot in limited-overs cricket.

"Runs against SL (Sri Lanka) don't count. If I was chairman of selectors, I won't pick Dhawan in the T20 WC squad. There is no competition between him and Rahul. Only one winner," Srikkanth said on Star Sports.

Before the series, the 34-year-old Dhawan said that he is looking forward to a "new start" in a new year and wants to win the World Cup for India.

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Agencies
February 26,2020

It could be Virat Kohli versus Faf du Plessis in the Asia XI-World XI two-match T20 series that has been organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on March 18 and 21 -- subject to the India skipper confirming his availability.

The matches will be played to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The BCB is awaiting a confirmation from Kohli as well as K.L. Rahul for the March 18 game as India are set to play South Africa on the same day in the final ODI of a three-match series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Agencies had earlier reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly had sent the names of Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Shikhar Dhawan and Kuldeep Yadav to the BCB for the two matches. And they all feature in the Asia XI team with the addition of wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and Rahul.

Announcing the names, BCB President Nazmul Hassan said: "We have already received four names from India. We haven't signed contracts but Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan and Mohammed Shami are supposed to come. They have said K.L. Rahul and Virat Kohli will play one game each, but that hasn't been finalised.

"Players like Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have finalised with us, from Afghanistan. Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane will play while from Sri Lanka, we will have Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera. From Bangladesh, we will have Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahmudullah and Liton Das.

"I don't remember all the names, but we will have three or four players from South Africa. Definitely, there will be the same number of players from West Indies. Australia and New Zealand will be playing but we will try to find some (players). Bairstow is definitely coming. Ngidi is coming. Chris Gayle is supposed to play. Faf du Plessis. We will have some of the best players around. We are uncertain about Pakistan since the PSL is will be ongoing. We will invite some of the cricketing greats."

Squads: Asia XI: Virat Kohli*, K.L. Rahul*, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shikhar Dhawan, Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Thisara Perera, Rashid Khan, Mustifizur Rehman, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lasith Malinga, Muzeeb ur Rehman

World XI: Alex Hales, Chris Gayle, Faf du Plessis (Captain), Nicholas Pooran, Ross Taylor, Jonny Bairstow, Kieron Pollard, Adil Rashid, Sheldon Cottrell, Lungi Ngidi, Andrew Tye, Mitchell McClenaghan. (Coach: Tom Moody)

Note: (*) For one game; Kohli's selection subject to confirmation.

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