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Gayle ton fires KXIP to 193/3

Agencies
April 20, 2018

Mohali, Apr 20: Chris Gayle gave a fitting answer to the sceptics with a blistering hundred as Kings XI Punjab overpowered Sunrisers Hyderabad by 15 runs in an IPL encounter, here on Thursday.

Gayle’s unbeaten 63-ball-104, his 21st hundred in shortest format propelled KXIP to 193 for 3 in 20 overs and they then restricted Sunrisers to 178 for 4, recording their third win in the tournament.

For Sunrisers, it was their first defeat after three successive wins. A cornered tiger can be dangerous and Gayle showed why he has taken the initial lack of interest of franchises to his heart.

“A lot of people thought I’m too old. After this innings, I have nothing to prove,” Gayle said immediately after his knock. While chasing, Sunrisers were dealt with a blow at the onset when Shikhar Dhawan was hit on the elbow off the very first delivery that he faced from Barinder Sran.

Wriddhiman Saha (6) tried a cross-batted heave only to be clean bowled in the process by Mohit Sharma. Yusuf Pathan (19) got two reprieves with Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh dropping sitters off Mohit and Barinder Sran’s bowling respectively. Mohit, however, had the last laugh as the former India player dragged one back to his stumps.

Pacer Andrew Tye (2-23 in 4 overs) and rookie mystery spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman (0-26 in 4 overs) then stifled Sunrisers in the middle overs despite Kane Williamson’s 54 off 41 balls and Manish Pandey’s unbeaten 57 off 42 balls.

In between themselves, Tye and Mujeeb bowled 15 dot balls, which proved to be crucial in the end. Even Barinder Sran (0/22 in 4 overs) was economical opening the bowling.

Earlier, Gayle scythed through Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack with a blistering hundred firing Punjab to big total.

Gayle showed that he is far from finished en route his magnificent knock that had 11 towering sixes and a solitary boundary.

Gayle’s 58-ball-hundred incidentally is the first of this edition of IPL and also against a bowling line-up that is being touted the most balanced of all eight teams.

Gayle moved to 99 with his 11th six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar over long-off. In Siddarth Kaul’s next over, he dabbed the ball towards point to complete a quick single. As a mark of celebration, Gayle gestured rocking a baby in a cradle, with his wife and daughter in the VIP box. The first 50 came off 39 balls and he took a mere 19 balls to complete the second 50.

It was the 14th over of the innings when Gayle actually turned the heat on. Already batting on 51, he smote leg-spinner Rashid Khan for four consecutive sixes. The first was over long-off, followed by a couple down the ground hits landing into sightscreen. The fourth six was slogged in the deep mid-wicket region.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 9: BWF World Championships defending champion PV Sindhu on Thursday cruised to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Masters after winning a second-round match.

The 24-year-old had the upper hand in the clash and thrashed Japan's Aya Ohori in straight games 21-10, 21-15 that lasted for 34-minute. The world number six will now play in her quarterfinal match on January 10.

Earlier in the day, Saina Nehwal defeated South Korea's An Se Young 25-23, 21-12 in 38 minutes. The first game saw back and forth action between both shuttlers. In the end, Nehwal kept her cool to win the match.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old had outclassed Belgium's Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals.

Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after losing their matches to Japan's Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei respectively. 

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News Network
January 10,2020

Karachi, Jan 10: Former Pakistan batsman and current U-19 head coach Ejaz Ahmed feels that his side can beat defending champions and arch-rivals India in the forthcoming ICC Youth World Cup beginning in South Africa on January 17.

"India has a very good cricket system and it is organized but I know that we have more passion than them when we play against each other and that is how we also beat them in the semi-finals of the recent Asian Emerging Nations Cup," Ejaz said.

Ejaz, who has played 60 Test and 250 ODIs, was head coach of the Pakistan Emerging side which beat India before eventually winning the title in Bangladesh last year.

"Even in the past, we beat India because of our greater passion and this time also I know the passion of our players will prevail over them although they have a very strong outfit," he added.

The 51-year-old Ejaz, however, said at the end of the day it would be all about how a team plays on that particular day.

"It is the same in the World Cup it does not matter which team is number one or defending champions what will matter is how a team plays on a given day. I personally feel our team is well balanced," he said.

Ejaz did not believe that India would get advantage of having played a four-nation tournament with South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe in South Africa before the World Cup.

"Our players have also trained hard in Lahore and we have played around 11 matches. We will also reach South Africa nine days before the World Cup and we have some practice games and I think our preparations are also very good for the tournament," he said.

The former batsman also said the absence of fast bowler Naseem Shah will not impact much on the team's performance. Naseem was withdrawn from the Pakistan U-19 squad after he played for the senior team in three Test matches against Australia and Sri Lanka.

"Look there was no controversy at all. The way we now see things is that you can't expect a MBA to go and take BA exams. That is how we look at Naseem Shah, he has made the grade for Pakistan and now he should be performing for the senior team," said the head coach.

"We have a couple of exciting young talent in the ranks. I expect Rohail and Haider to play for the senior team in two to three year's time, they are that good."

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