ICC World T20 2014: Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy underline the importance of batting 20 overs

April 2, 2014

ICC_World_T20_2014Apr 2: Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo’s brilliant assault against Pakistan’s bowling helped West Indies seal a berth in the semi-final of the ICC World T20 2014. Nishad Pai Vaidya looks back at that partnership and how it promises to blood momentum into the West Indies camp.

To say that Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy’s assault in the slog overs was brutal is an understatement. In many ways, it was reminiscent of their ICC World T20 2012 final against Sri Lanka, where they compensated for a slow start with an unmatched assault at the death. Pakistan bled runs profusely, conceding 59 in the last three overs. Actually, there was that West Indian belief all along that they could put up a good score on the board and defend it. This time around, a semi-final spot was at stake and they found their mojo with some spectacular hitting.

At the post match press conference, Bravo resonated the belief when he stated that it is important to bat the allotted 20 overs and anything is possible. But, they were up against, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul, two men who are fine bowlers in Twenty20 (T20) cricket. They had worked in tandem to pull a rabbit out of the hat and beat Australia in a thriller earlier in the tournament. Here, The odds were in Pakistan’s favour with West Indies at 81 for five in the 14th over. What did the West Indies have then? Their belief and self confidence. That is what took them through.

It is great to see Bravo and Sammy come to the party for the West Indies in the last two games. The T20I and the One-Day International (ODI) skipper respectively, stitched a superb partnership at a crucial stage of the innings, exhibiting their craft with the bat. Both have been criticised at various points in the recent past, but in the game against Pakistan, they showed what they are made of. Sammy was perhaps an easy target. However, his hitting ability, backed up by a calm head on his shoulders is working wonders for West Indies now. Against Australia, they faced a stiff challenge in the slog overs and had only one option: attack their way around. But, against Pakistan, it was a different challenge. There was more at stake, plus they had to put up a good score.

Bravo reflected on the partnership during the media interaction and revealed the simple plot, “We had nothing to lose, we were under pressure. I told Sammy not to worry about taking on Ajmal, just stay there, keep your eyes on the ball and be powerful enough to get close to the ball to hit it over the ropes. The idea was to get about 135-140.” With that carefree approach they not only managed to overhaul that 140 mark, but went past 160.

Watching the duo work their way from the press box was an absolute pleasure. The whole crowd had come to watch Chris Gayle, but were given similar entertainment by this duo. Bravo didn’t try too many things at the crease and let his reflexes take over. There was no shuffling about and he did back that plan of staying still at the crease and maintaining his balance. When Gul came onto bowl the 18th over, he smacked a full length delivery, then a shortish one and carted another wide one behind point. He also waited for Ajmal to make a mistake to attack. Sammy went almost unnoticed, while Bravo fashioned that assault, but was equally effective.

Such a victory is bound to give West Indies the momentum and would bring back memories of that crowning glory of 2012. And guess what? It is Sri Lanka they face next, the team they defeated in the final back then. There are many reasons to smile for the West Indies! This time, they are holding back the Gangnam style though!

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News Network
March 23,2020

Colombo, Mar 23: Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara has said he is currently in self-quarantine, following his government's guidelines for those recently returning from Europe, which has now become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authorities are concerned over people returning from the most-affected COVID-19 countries in Europe not registering with the police and practising isolation.

"I have no symptoms or anything like that, but I'm following government guidelines," Sangakkara told News First.

"I arrived from London over a week ago and the first thing was there was a news bulletin saying that anyone who had travelled from within March 1 to 15 should register themselves with the police and undergo self-quarantine. I registered myself with the police."

The former captain said this even as the government confirmed there have been at least three cases of recent returnees attempting to hide the novel coronavirus symptoms from authorities.

Both Sangakkara and his former teammate Mahela Jayawardene have been active on social media, urging Sri Lankans to avoid panic and to exercise proper social distancing, as the country went into curfew on Friday evening.

Sri Lanka has so far reported more than 80 active COVID-19 positive cases in the country.

Across the world, the number of infected has crossed three lakh besides a death toll of more than 14,000 people.

Meanwhile, former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie has also gone into a two-week isolation after returning from the United Kingdom.

Gillespie, who is the head coach at Sussex, had been in Cape Town with the team for a pre-season tour, which was cut short as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mar 5: India reached a maiden women's Twenty20 World Cup final Thursday after their last four clash against England was washed out, sparking calls for the International Cricket Council to include reserve days in future events.

Harmanpreet Kaur's unbeaten side were due to face the 2009 champions at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but the rain began pouring early in the day with barely any let-up.

With a minimum 10 overs per side needed for a result and no break in the weather, the umpires called it off without a ball being bowled.

Normally, five overs per side are needed to constitute a Twenty20 match, but the rules are different for ICC tournaments.

Four-time champions Australia are scheduled to take on South Africa later in the second semi-final, with that match also under threat.

With no reserve day, the highest-ranked teams from the two groups move into the final if play is not possible

That would pit India against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, where organisers are hoping to attract 90,000 plus fans, denying Australia a chance to defend their crown.

A reserve day is allowed for the final and the lack of one for the semis has been criticised by some players, with England captain Heather Knight among those calling for change.

"If both semi-finals are lost it would be a sad time for the tournament," she told reporters ahead of the match. "It's obviously going to be a shame if it does happen and I'm sure there will be a lot of pressure on the ICC to change that."

Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts said he sought clarification from the ICC about adding a reserve day with the Sydney weather looking ominous, but the request was denied.

"We've asked the question and it's not part of the playing conditions and we respect that," he told Melbourne's SEN radio.

"It gives you cause to reflect and think about how you might improve things in the future, but going into a tournament with a given set of playing conditions and rules, I don't think it's time to tinker with the rules."

It is not the way India would have wanted to make the final, but they are deserving of being there having gone through the group phase as the only unbeaten team.

After opening their campaign by upsetting Australia, they beat Bangladesh, New Zealand and then Sri Lanka.

While the entire team played well, teenage batting prodigy Shafali Verma excelled, which saw her elevated to the top of the ICC T20 batting rankings this week aged just 16.

She is only the second Indian after Mithali Raj to reach number one, pushing New Zealand veteran Suzie Bates down to second.

Ranked four in the world, India had made three semi-finals before this year and lost every time, including against England at the last World Cup.

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Agencies
February 7,2020

New Delhi, Feb 7: It was on February 7, 1999, that Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He achieved the feat against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, now known as Arun Jaitley cricket stadium in Delhi during the second Test of the two-match series.

India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.

It was then Kumble who came into the attack and wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up.

The spinner, also known as 'Jumbo' first dismissed Afridi (41) in the 25th over. After the right-handed batter's dismissal, India kept on taking wickets through Kumble and Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in no time.

Kumble then kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and he got his tenth scalp in the 61st over after dismissing Wasim Akram.

This effort enabled India to register a win by 212 runs, and Kumble became the second bowler after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in a single Test inning.

Kumble finished with the bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

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