India close in on win as SL totter at 31/3 in pursuit of 410

Agencies
December 5, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 5: India hurtled towards their ninth successive series victory as they left Sri Lanka precariously placed at 31 for three and staring at another humiliation in the third and final Test here today.

The visiting Lankans were set an improbable victory target of 410 to level the three-match series. It will be a miracle if Sri Lanka manage to make it.

The 16 overs that they batted during the final 85 minutes of the fourth day's play was with an aim to survive rather than play positive cricket.

If the scoreboard is anything to go by, the ploy boomeranged on the visitors, who were again seen wearing anti-pollution masks, the second time in the game.

The pitch has not deteriorated much but it is the straighter deliveries from the spinners that is causing maximum damage.

Mohammed Shami (1/8 in 3 overs), who was unwell after a three-over burst, bowled a hostile spell and accounted for Sadeera Samarawickrama (5).

A barrage of short deliveries unnerved the opener, who was hit on the temple while fielding in India's first innings. Shami played on his psyche with well-disguised bouncers into his body one such he fended awkwardly and offered a simple catch to Ajinkya Rahane in the slips.

The ever-accurate Ravindra Jadeja (5-2-5-2) had Dimuth Karunaratne caught behind, giving Wriddhiman Saha his fifth catch of the match. The decision to send Suranga Lakmal (0) as nighwatchman backfired as he played on while trying a forward defensive prod.

Skipper Virat Kohli (50 off 58 balls), Rohit Sharma (50 off 49 balls) and Shikhar Dhawan (67 off 91 balls) made useful contributions as India declared at 246 for five, with an overall lead of 409 runs.

With a cushion of 163-run first innings lead, the Indian batsmen showed intent to score quick runs, scoring at a rate of 4.70 in the 52.2 overs they batted in the second innings.

It was a 77-run stand in 17.2 overs for the third wicket between Cheteshwar Pujara (49 off 66 balls) and Dhawan in the post lunch session that set the platform for Kohli and Rohit to accelerate in the final session.

The Indian skipper and his limited overs deputy added 90 runs in only 15.2 overs.

Kohli had only three fours but ran brilliantly between the wickets along with Rohit, who, among his five boundaries, had a gorgeous pull-shot to his credit. The moment he reached his sixth consecutive half-century in Tests, Kohli signaled for a declaration.

It was Pujara, whose uncharacteristic batting set the tone for India in the second innings. The Saurashtra batsman was even more attacking than Dhawan, whose innings had five fours and a six down the ground off chinaman Lakshan Sandakan.

The two batsmen were especially severe on off-spinner Perera. Whenever he dropped it short, the batsman hit him on either side of the wicket.

If he tried to give flight, they stepped out and maneuvered it for singles and doubles. Pujara was finally dismissed when Dananjaya de Silva got one to drift and straighten, taking the outside edge to land into Angelo Mathews' safe pair of hands. He was unhappy to have returned just a run short of another well-deserved half-century.

Dhawan completed his half century off 82 balls, taking a single off Sandakan. He was dismissed by the chinaman when he tried to loft him for his second six, stumped by Dickwella.

What stood out like a sore thumb was another failure from Ajinkya Rahane, whose woeful run continued.

Kohli promoted Rahane (10) to give him enough time to settle down and bat his way out of form. However, desperation to hit his way out of trouble brought about Rahane's downfall. He stepped out to Dilruwan Perera and the lofted shot found Lakshan Sandakan at the long-on boundary.

It came after Vijay (9) had played a lazy shot away from the body of Suranga Lakmal to give a catch to Niroshan Dickwella behind the stumps.

Earlier, courtesy skipper Dinesh Chandimal's career-best 164, Sri Lanka scored 373 in their first essay, conceding a 163-run lead to the hosts. Ishant Sharma (3/98) got Chandimal to wrap up the Lankan innings.

The Sri Lankan players once again wore anti-pollution masks from the start of the Indian second innings due to the prevailing pollution in the national capital.

Lakmal, in fact, threw up a couple of times while fielding at the third man area and the groundsmen had to put sand.

For a change, the Sri Lankan players were wearing N95 anti-pollution masks, required to protect the lungs from the"very poor" air quality in Delhi.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Mar 2: Indian captain Virat Kohli was left frustrated and deflated as New Zealand won the second Test inside three days in Christchurch on Monday to sweep the series.

India started the day at 90 for six and were all out for 124, before New Zealand chased down the required 132 to win for the loss of three wickets in 36 overs.

It ended a disappointing tour for India and Kohli as New Zealand, who won the first Test by 10 wickets early on day four, wrapped up the series with ease.

New Zealand are now unbeaten in their last 13 home Tests, winning nine of them, and in the past decade their record as hosts is played 39, won 20, drawn 13 and lost five.

In the latest series, on traditional New Zealand green wickets, India managed scores of 165, 191, 242 and 124, reflecting the low contributions from Kohli of 2, 19, 3 and 14.

Kohli came to New Zealand as the world's top Test batsman and oozing charm as he described New Zealand as the “nice guys” of cricket.

But during the series he lost his top ranking to Australian Steve Smith and when Kane Williamson went for three in the first innings of the second Test the pressure showed when he gave the New Zealand skipper a very animated send-off.

There was further evidence of frustration when he was caught on camera yelling an obscenity at a group of New Zealand supporters on Sunday.

The end came quickly for India on day three as Tim Southee and Trent Boult tormented the batsmen with their variety of inswing and outswing deliveries targeting both sides of the stumps.

Hanuma Vihari was the first to fall, in Southee's second over, when he turned a legside delivery too fine and was caught by BJ Watling diving to his left.

Five balls later and with no addition to the score, India's other overnight batsman Rishabh Pant was caught behind off a Boult delivery that swung away.

Mohammed Shami was caught for five by Tom Blundell at deep mid-wicket and Jasprit Bumrah was run out when trying to give the strike to Ravindra Jadeja, who was unbeaten on 16.

Boult and Southee signed for most of the dismissals with Boult taking four for 28 and Southee three for 36. The swing pair accounted for 25 of the 40 Indian wickets in the series.

There was enough seam and swing available for India to keep the New Zealand batsmen guessing but Bumrah and Umesh Yadav were unable to apply consistent pressure and Mohammed Shami was troubled by a sore shoulder.

New Zealand coasted through a century opening stand by Tom Latham and Blundell before losing three quick wickets.

Latham notched his 18th half-century and second of the Test before he was caught behind off Yadav for 52, Kane Williamson had a short stay for five, and Blundell went for 55.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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News Network
April 12,2020

New Delhi, Apr 12: As devotees across the world celebrate Easter today, former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday condoled the demise of people who lost their lives during last year's Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka and said someone must seek answers to the questions which still remain unresolved.

"A year on we all share the pain of the families grieving lives lost, we stand with you and for you. We remember. So many questions still unanswered, but answer them someone must," Sangakkara tweeted.

On April 21, 2019, multiple blasts ripped through Sri Lanka when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday.
The explosions rattled churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing 258 people and injuring over 500.

A local terror group called National Thowheeth Jama'ath had claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks.

The island nation was put under a state of emergency for a period of four months from April to August.

The Sri Lankan police had then said that 293 suspects were arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in the island country in April.

This year, most of the devotees would be offering the prayers from their homes as mass gatherings have been suspended in most countries due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion on Good Friday. It also marks the culmination of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and penance.

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