India claim maiden badminton team gold

Agencies
April 9, 2018

Gold Coast, Apr 9: The legendary but on the wane Lee Chong Wei was one of the casualties as a rampaging Indian mixed badminton team claimed its maiden Commonwealth Games gold medal, thrashing three-time defending champions Malaysia in the final here on Monday.

The pair of Satwik Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa claimed the mixed doubles match against Peng Soon Chan and Liu Yong Goh 21-14, 15-21, 21-15 before Kidambi Srikanth stunned three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee 21-17, 21-14 in straight games, his first victory over the Malaysian giant.

"Perhaps Lee was not at his best but then you can never be too sure against a player like him. You always have to be on your guard, which I was. And I also gave my best. I was not expecting it to be this easy," Srikanth said after one of the biggest wins of his career.

"Pressure was there on him but Srikanth enjoys the pressure and that got him the result," added chief national coach Pullela Gopichand.

The Games debutant men's doubles pair of Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost narrowly to Goh and Wee Kiong Tan 15-21, 20-22 keeping Malaysia afloat for a while. But the in-form Saina Nehwal put paid to their hopes with a 21-11, 19-21, 21-9 win over Sonia Cheah.

"It was exhausting, I actually lost focus during the match but thankfully managed to hold it together and ensure that the gold medal winning shot was mine," said the London Olympics bronze-medallist.

"It is a medal that I will forever cherish, it is very special. Team gold is always way more cherishable," she added.

Earlier, India had won the mixed team silver and bronze respectively in the 2010 and 2006 editions of the Commonwealth Games.

Malaysian legend Chong Wei walked out to a thunderous applause to face Srikanth but it wasn't meant to be his day despite the arena resonating with the chants of his name.

The Indian, who has never beaten Lee on the circuit, was neck-and-neck with his rival before taking a 10-8 lead in the opening game.

The ever-so-elegant Lee was surprisingly off colour. As graceful as his on-court movement was, the strokes lacked accuracy as he took the lemon break trailing 8-11.

The gap widened as the game progressed and it was quite a dampener for the sizeable Malaysian fans to watch their icon struggle.

Sindhu fit: Gopi

Forced out of the gold medal winning mixed team campaign due to an ankle injury, top shuttler P V Sindhu has recovered to be fit for the singles event, Gopichand said.

"She is fine now and will compete in the singles competition," Gopichand said when asked about Sindhu's fitness status.

"She had an ankle injury, which was not major but we did not want to risk her when Saina was giving us the results we wanted. Now she has recovered and will be there from April 11," he added.

Sindhu, who was to captain the side, had sustained the injury during a practice session in Hyderabad before arriving here for Games.

She was, however, present on the sidelines during all the matches India played, vociferously cheering the team.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Mumbai, Jan 12: India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will receive the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for his exploits in international cricket in the 2018-19 season, the BCCI announced on Sunday.

The world's leading pacer will be honoured during the BCCI Annual Awards here on Sunday.

The world's No. 1 ODI bowler made his Test debut during India's tour of South Africa in January 2018 and has not looked back since. He picked up a five-wicket haul in South Africa, England, Australia and the West Indies becoming the first and only Asian bowler to achieve the feat.

He played a stellar role in the historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia, India's first Down Under and which helped them retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy. While Bumrah nets the biggest prize in the men's category, Poonam Yadav will claim the top prize in women's section and will be awarded the best international cricketer.

The award will be another feather in the leg-spinner's cap who recently received the Arjuna Award. Former India captains Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Anjum Chopra will be presented with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award and the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award for women respectively.

A member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, Srikkanth took on the fearsome West Indies fast bowlers and scored an attacking 38, the top individual score in the low-scoring final at the Lord's. He also captained India and post-retirement served as the chief selector and it was during his tenure that the 2011 World Cup squad was picked.

Anjum is one of the finest batswomen and the first Indian to play 100 ODIs. In a career spanning 17 years, Anjum represented India in four 50-over World Cups and two T20 World Cup (played in one).

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said, "The BCCI Awards is our way of recognising the finest on-field performances right from the age group to senior level and also honour our legends.

"It will be a special evening in Mumbai as we will also have the 7th MAK Pataudi lecture and I am delighted to inform that it will be Virender Sehwag, who will address the gathering."

Board secretary Jay Shah said, "The BCCI Awards are an important feature in India's cricketing calendar, a melange of aspiration and inspiration. "We wanted to make Naman bigger and better and have introduced four new categories – highest run-getter and wicket-takers in WODIs and best international debut men and women – from this year. A total of 25 awards will be presented."

Arun Singh Dhumal, the board's treasurer, said, "Right from domestic to international level, Indian Cricket has had a memorable 2018-19 season. We have started the year on the right note with Team India completing a convincing series win against Sri Lanka and they will be in attendance. The U-19 team is in South Africa for the World Cup and all eyes will be on the stars of tomorrow. It will be a special evening and I congratulate the award winners".

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Agencies
April 15,2020

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey has heaped praise on MS Dhoni, saying the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is the "greatest finisher" the game of cricket has ever seen.

"Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced," Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo's Videocast.

"Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes, he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn't have that kind of belief in myself," he added.

The former Australian batsman, who shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, said the 38-year-old Indian believes in the philosophy that he who panics last, wins the game.

"I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over," said Hussey while talking about his ability to finish the game without much hiccups.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"Supportive owners who let coach Stephen Fleming and captain Dhoni decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the coach and the captain, Dhoni's leadership and lastly the foresight of the owners, Fleming and Dhoni to pick the best players, particularly the good Indian players and then stick with them for as long as possible."

"This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust that otherwise takes time to grow," he added.

Hussey also said that once Dhoni bids adieu to the game, CSK would probably like to start all over again.

"That's a 60-million-dollar question, and I am equally intrigued. I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved in some way or the other," said Hussey.

"However, whenever the change of guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build a brand, new team, and use their existing philosophy as they enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more challenging in current times," he added.

Dhoni was supposed to lead CSK in the 13th IPL edition which now stands postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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