IND vs WI 4th ODI: India crush West Indies by 224 runs, take 2-1 lead

Agencies
October 29, 2018

Mumbai, Oct 30: India embarrassed the West Indies by 224 runs in the fourth One-day International on Monday for one of their biggest wins and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Rohit Sharma (162) and Ambati Rayudu (100) struck belligerent centuries to guide India to an imposing 377 for five after the hosts opted to bat.

The duo took centre stage after a rare failure by skipper Virat Kohli.

Rohit's 21st century came off 137 balls with the help of 20 fours and four hits over the fence, while Rayudu decorated his 100-run knock with eight boundaries and four sixes.

Chasing 378, West Indies simply caved in against India's clinical bowling attack on what was a batting-friendly wicket to be bundled out for a paltry 153 in 36.2 overs.

Young pacer Khaleel Ahmed (3/13) impressed upfront before chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (3/42)) ran through the West Indies' tail.

The Indians dished out an impressive effort on the field, inflicting two run outs besides Rohit holding onto three fine catches in the slips.

This is India's third biggest win in the format. Their biggest-ever win in ODI remains the 257-run demolition of Bermuda in the 2007 ICC World Cup.

West Indies' chase never really got going as they lost half of their side inside the 50-run mark with Khaleel doing the bulk of the damage.

Except for skipper Jason Holder (54 not out), no other West Indian batsmen could withstand the Indian attack, as the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals and were never really in the hunt.

West Indies lost two wickets - Chandrapul Hemraj (14) and Shai Hope (0) - in the fifth over. While Hemraj gave a sitter to Rayadu off Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Hope was run out courtesy a stunning direct hit by Kuldeep from mid-on.

Matters became worse for the visitors after Kieran Powell (4) was run-out in the very next over by Kohli.

Wickets kept tumbling and the next to be dismissed was Shimron Hetymar (13), who was trapped in front by Ahmed in the 10th over, even though the batsman went for an unsuccessful review.

The 20-year-old Ahmed was on fire as he picked up two more wickets in quick succession. He first cleaned up Rovman Powell (1) and then accounted for Samuels, who edged one to Rohit in the first slip.

Batting first, India made a quick start with Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (38) and added a run-a-ball 71 for the opening stand before the latter pulled a Keemo Paul short delivery straight to Powell at the midwicket boundary.

Kohli, who hit three consecutive tons before Monday's match, played aggressively for his 16 before edging a Kemar Roach delivery to Hope behind the stumps.

Rohit and Rayudu held fort and continued to play aggressive brand of cricket.

The duo continued the onslaught and made the West Indies attack look ordinary, picking up boundaries and sixes at will.

After Kohli's dismissal, Rohit, who had scored a match-winning unbeaten 152 in the lung-opener at Guhawati, and Rayudu built the innings and in the process shared a breezy 211-run stand for the third wicket, which came off just 163 deliveries.

Rohit didn't spare a single West Indian bowler and made his intentions clear when he opened the account with a boundary over point.

The Mumbaikar initially played second fiddle to Dhawan but after his half century, that came off 60 balls, he upped the ante.

Rohit displayed all the shots in the book - the drives, pulls, flicks and cuts - before he departed in the 44th over.

Rayadu, on the other hand, took time to settle down, but then hammered the bowlers with his exquisite stroke-play - first in Rohit's company and then alongside veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni (23).

Kedar Jadhav (16) and Ravindra Jadeja (7) remained unbeaten as the hosts amassed 116 runs in the last 10 overs.

India won the first ODI by eight wickets before the second game ended in a tie. West Indies bounced back to win the third ODI by 43 runs. The final match of the series will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

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News Network
April 7,2020

London, Apr 7: Bowling coach Waqar Younis feels that it was the absence of pacers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir which saw Pakistan getting whitewashed during Australia tour last year.

Amir and Riaz had quit the red-ball format ahead of the matches against Australia in 2019.

"Just before the Australia series, they ditched us and we had the only choice to pick youngsters.

We were the new management and decided to go on with taking in the younger lot and groom them. ESPNcricinfo quoted Younis as saying.

Pakistan was not able to win a single match in Australia as they got defeated both in T20Is and Test series.

"It's not like we have lost a lot, but yes they left us at the wrong time. But anyway, we don't have any grudge against them," Younis added.

"We cannot control players' choice on what they want to play, but then there should be a mechanism so we all are on board. "It's not like I am saying we could have won in Australia but we could have done better than what we have done," he opined.

Amir gave up the red ball format in July in order to manage his workload and extend his white-ball career for Pakistan as well as in T20 leagues around the world, while Riaz took an "indefinite break" from Test cricket in September last year.

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore's Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson returned to New Zealand on Tuesday after being stranded in India for over a month amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ex-New Zealand player and coach had arrived in India on March 5 for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League but was stuck in the country after the lockdown was imposed and all flights were suspended.

"What a wonderful sight after spending over a day on a bus to get to Mumbai airport. The staff on @FlyAirNZ were simply outstanding on our return to New Zealand," Hesson tweeted.

He also thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the New Zealand Embassy in India, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"Special thanks to Down pointing backhand index @NZinIndia @MFATNZ @narendramodi @jacindaardern #repatriationflight #india #NZ" he added.

To stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, India and New Zealand had announced lockdowns in their respective countries last month, alongside travel restrictions, forcing the 45-year-old to stay in Bengaluru.

While India remains in lockdown till May 3, New Zealand eased its stringent measures on Tuesday.

The IPL, which was originally scheduled to get underway on March 29, has been suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.

The cornavirus outbreak, that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected over 30 lakh people across the world while killing more than two lakh.

All sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, have either been cancelled or postponed.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Jul 2: Cricket Australia has decided to not use the Dukes ball from this summer's Sheffield Shield, having used it alongside Kookaburra for four seasons.

CA has confirmed that the Kookaburra ball will be used for the entire 2020-21 first-class season.

Australia has been using Dukes ball since the 2016-17 season in Shield matches with an aim to help its cricketers prepare for the hostile English conditions.

CA's Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, said the decision to axe the Dukes was the right call. "The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents," Roach said.

"We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons. We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it," he added.

Roach said the ineffectiveness of spinners in first-class cricket in recent times played a role in CA's decision to do away with the Dukes. "We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball will have a positive benefit here," he said.

The CA official, however, didn't rule out the possibility of re-introducing it later.

"We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future."

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