Happy with effort but need to improve: Karthik

Agencies
April 8, 2019

Jaipur, Apr 8: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik has praised his players for their all-round clinical effort in his side's eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match but said they need to improve in certain aspects.

"It was a pretty clinical effort, the bowlers bowled well and the batsmen backed it up well too," Karthik said after the win here on Sunday night.

"In India, you get to play on a lot of slow surfaces and you need to adapt to them. We need to improve in a few situations, but that's always the case," he added.

Asked about his side's debutant pacer Harry Gurney, who took two wickets for 25 runs, Karthik said, "Well Harry (Gurney) is a true professional, he's played in leagues all over the world."

Gurney, on his part, said, "It was a pitch that suited my cutter options, so a nice one to make my debut on. I work hard on my variations and on my yorker and it is nice to have them in tough situations, although I didn't use it much tonight.

"I am working on a knuckleball but I don't think it will be ready during the IPL, maybe somewhere in the English summer."

KKR opener Chris Lynn, who scored 50, said, "I rode my luck again. But we knew we had to go hard in the powerplay. It slowed up as the innings progressed. It was a nice powerplay and we were in cruise control after that."

On the ball which he inside-edged but did not dislodge the bail after hitting the leg stump, he said, "I nicked it, so I thought I was gone one way or the other. It happens in T20 cricket.

Chasing 140 for a win, Sunil Narine (47) and Lynn (50) shared 91 runs for the opening stand in 8.3 overs to take the game away from Rajasthan Royals as KKR reached the target with 6.1 overs to spare.

"Unbelievable (batting from Narine). He has done it for a couple of years now. We don't talk too much. Just keep it simple. I am traditionally a slow starter. It is a long tournament, we are building nicely with important wins."

Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane rued that his side was short by 10-20 runs.

"I think on this wicket 150-160 would have been good. We had runs on the board and a slower wicket. But, I don't think we bowled to our plans. Lots of learning from this game though. Such things happen in cricket, we need to learn from our mistakes," he said.

"I think we should focus on playing good cricket and improve in the upcoming games. The wicket was going to be slow and we knew that, so we thought it was the right time to give him (Midhun) a game today."

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News Network
February 29,2020

Feb 29: India were all out for 242 in their first innings following a stunning battling collapse, triggered by paceman Kyle Jamieson on the opening day of the second cricket Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, here on Saturday.

India were steady at 194 for five at tea but lost wickets in quick succession after the play resumed. Jamieson returned figures of 14-3-45-5.

Hanuma Vihari top-scored for India with his combative 55 while Prithvi Shaw (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (54) hit contrasting half-centuries.

Virat Kohli's (3) poor run continued while his deputy Ajikya Rahane (7) also fell cheaply.

India lost last five wickets for 48 runs, of which 26 were contributed by last-wicket pair of Mohammed Shami (16) and Jasprit Bumrah (10).

Brief Scores:

India 1st innings: 242 all out in 63 overs. (H Vihari 55, P Shaw 54, C Pujara 54 batting; Kyle Jamieson 5/45, Tim Southee 2/38, ).

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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Filipina weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz noticed live-streamed concerts were collecting money for coronavirus relief and was struck by inspiration: why not raise funds with an online workout?

Since then the Olympic silver-medallist -- and strong contender for her country's first Games gold -- has made enough money to buy food packs for hundreds of hard-hit families in the Philippines.

Diaz has done it all from Malaysia, where she was training to qualify for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics when much of the world locked down against the virus in March.

"I thought (distribution) would be impossible because I'm not physically present," Diaz, 29, told news agency.

"It's a good thing that I have trusted friends and trusted family members who understand why we need to do a fundraising."

That circle of supporters has handed out the packages, which include vegetables, eggs and rice, to more than 400 families.

The food was bought with donations from about 50 people who joined sessions that lasted up to three hours, and gave them a rare chance to train with an elite athlete.

Diaz rose to fame in 2016 after snagging a surprise silver in the 53 kilogramme category in Rio, becoming the Philippines' first female Olympic medallist and ending the nation's 20-year medal drought at the Games.

Two years later, she won gold at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

However, her quest to qualify for Tokyo is on hold ahead of the Games' rescheduled opening in July 2021.

"I thought all the hard work would soon be over... then it was extended," she said. "But I'm still thankful I can still continue with (the training) I need to do."

Still, the lockdown broke her daily training regimen, keeping her away from weights for 14 days for the first time in her career.

"I felt like I was losing my mind already. I've been carrying the barbell for 18 years and all of a sudden it's gone. Those were the kinds of anxiety that I felt," she said.

But she got access to some equipment, and with her coach's urging, got back to work. She was relieved to find her strength was still there.

Instead of a Tokyo berth, the past months have been about a different kind of accomplishment for Diaz: helping her countrymen get through the coronavirus crisis.

Rosemelyn Francisco's family in Zamboanga City, Diaz's home town, is one of the first to get help from the athlete's initiative, and is deeply grateful.

Her family was not wealthy to begin with, and the pandemic has cost her husband his construction job.

"The food she donated has all everything we need, including eggs," said Francisco, 27.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Mumbai, Jan 13: India captain Virat Kohli indicated at dropping himself down the batting order to accommodate both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the playing XI against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series starting Tuesday.

With vice-captain Rohit Sharma an automatic pick, the team management is left with tough choice of selecting either Dhawan or Rahul in the XI. But the skipper sees no reason why both can't play together.

"Look, a guy in form is always good for the team. ...You obviously want to have the best players available and then chose from what the combination should be for the team. There might be a possibility that all three (Rohit, Shikhar and Rahul) might play. It will be interesting to see what balance we want to take in on the field," Kohli said on the eve of the match.

Asked if he would he be happy to bat lower down the order, Virat said,"Yeah, big possibility. I would be very happy to do so. Look I am not possessive about where I play. I am not insecure about where I bat," said the skipper.

For Kohli, it is more important as to what kind of leadership legacy he leaves behind rather than chase personal glory.

"Being the captain of the team, it is my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way, but your job as a captain is not only to look after the team right now, but also to prepare a team that you leave behind when you eventually pass it onto someone else," he added.

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