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India crush Sri Lanka by 304 runs in first Test

Agencies
July 29, 2017

Galle, Jul 29: A vastly superior India today outclassed an injury-ravaged and out-of-sorts Sri Lanka by 304 runs in the opening Test to bury the ghosts of a humilating loss at the same venue, exactly two years ago. India lead the three-match series 1-0.

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This was India's biggest overseas win (in terms of runs) surpassing 279 run-victory against England at Leeds in 1986. For Sri Lanka, it was their biggest defeat (in terms of runs), surpassing their 301-run loss against Pakistan in 1994.

A gigantic victory target of 550 was out of question for the hosts but they fizzled out in the final session of the fourth day to finish on 245 in 76.5 overs -- their innings terminated with injured skipper Rangana Herath and Asela Gunaratne ruled out.

This was after India captain Virat Kohli struck his 17th Test hundred with India declaring their second innings at 240 for three. The Sri Lankans, especially their opener Dimuth Karunaratne (97) batted gutsily for the first two sessions reaching 192 for 4 at tea.

However Ravichandran Ashwin (3/65 in 27 overs) ran through the middle-order. Once Karunaratne was dismissed trying to play paddle sweep, it was all over for the Islanders.

After the tea break, India made short work of proceedings. The breakthrough was achieved in the fifth over after the break. Niroshan Dickwella (67) top-edged off Ashwin with Wriddhiman Saha collecting an easy catch.

Dilruwan Perera (21 no) added 23 runs for the sixth wicket with Karunaratne. The Lankan resistance ended for all- purpose when the latter was bowled off Ashwin, dragging a sweep back onto his stumps. Overall, he faced 208 balls and hit 9 fours.

Two balls later, Virat Kohli took a great catch at leg slip and accounted for Nuwan Pradeep (0) as well. The end came swiftly when Lahiru Kumara (0) skied off Ravindra Jadeja (3/71).

Herath and Gunaratne were unable to bat owing to on-field injuries. Umesh Yadav (1/42) and Mohammed Shami (1/43) took a wicket apiece at the start of the innings.

In post-lunch, Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis (36) continued their partnership for the third wicket. The two batsmen looked to play for time and cut out any aggressive strokes. They did capitalise on run-scoring opportunities, as this atypical Galle pitch didn't provide much support to the Indian spinners. In all, they put on 79 runs.

Karunaratne scored his 12th Test half-century off 81 balls. Overall, he faced 166 deliveries and hit 9 fours. In doing so, he brought up Sri Lanka's 100 in the 27th over.

In that same over, Mendis survived a DRS review off Ashwin for caught behind as Ultra-Edge didn't show any deviation.

Four overs later, Mendis was caught behind off Jadeja as the DRS review was turned in India's favour, this time an edge clearly detected off the batsman. It became a double blow for Lanka thereafter as Angelo Mathews (2) was caught going for a wild slog at backward point off Jadeja again.

Karunaratne though held his ground and put on another 79 runs for the fifth wicket with Dickewella. The two batted out 22.3 overs until the tea break to defy India's bowling.

In the morning, starting from overnight 189/3, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane showed an eagerness to score runs.

It was obvious that the visitors were waiting for the captain to get to his landmark before putting Lanka into bat again. And to his credit Kohli didn’t waste any time as he reached his hundred off 133 balls in the sixth over of the morning. Overall, Kohli faced 136 balls and hit five fours as well as a six.

In doing so, he equalled the records of former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar (116 Tests) and VVS Laxman (134 Tests), who both have 17 Test hundreds. Kohli reached his milestone in only his 58th Test. The Indian declaration came after the very next over. It was the second highest target set by India in a Test after 617 versus New Zealand at Wellington in 2009.

Kohli and Rahane put on 51 runs for the 4th wicket. In doing so, they became the 14th pair to put up 2000-plus runs in Test cricket for India. Kohli also became the quickest captain to score 1000 overseas Test runs, reaching the mark in 17 innings. He improved Sachin Tendulkar's record of 19 innings.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Auckland, Jan 27: : K.L. Rahul made an unbeaten 57 Sunday to steer India to a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international and to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Rahul and Shreyas Iyer put on 86 for the third wicket as India cruised past New Zealand's total of 132-5 with 2.3 overs to spare. Shivam Dube (13 not out) hit a six from the bowling of Tim Southeein in the 18th over to lift India to 135-3.

Iyer made 58 not out and Rahul 56 as India beat New Zealand by six wickets with an over to spare in the first match of the series.

New Zealand made 203-5 batting first in that match but on Sunday, on the same pitch, it struggled to achieve any real momentum. During the second match the pitch played much slower and India bowled expertly to restrict New Zealand's total.

Martin Guptill made 33 in a 48-run opening partnership with Colin Munro and Tim Seifert made an unbeaten 33 at the end of the innings but New Zealand wasn't able to reach a total that could stretch India's deep batting lineup.

Rohit Sharma (8) and captain Virat Kohli (11) were out relatively cheaply but Rahul and Iyer (44) sped India towards a comprehensive victory.

Dube came to the crease shortly before the end and quickly brought the match to a conclusion.

"I think we backed up the first match with a very good performance today, especially with the ball," Kohli said. "We demanded that the bowlers stood up and took control of what we wanted to do out there.

"I think our line and length and the way we wanted to bowl on that wicket, sticking to one side of the wicket and being shorter was a very good feature of us as a team and helped us restrict a very good New Zealand team."

New Zealand's total was inadequate, even on a slower pitch, and India almost toyed with the home side as it made its way to a comfortable win.

New Zealand named the same team that lost the first match of the series and batted after winning the toss, just as it batted when it was outplayed in the first match of the series.

The match raised further questions about the coaching and captaincy of the New Zealand team after its humiliating test series loss in Australia last month. New Zealand showed again Sunday it hasn't the talent to compete with the best teams in the world.

"As a batting unit we probably needed another 15 or 20 to make that total more competitive," said New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. "But credit to the way the India side bowled, they're a class side in all departments and they put us under pressure throughout that middle period."

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News Network
February 4,2020

Feb 4: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday said the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash has impacted his outlook towards life, which he feels, is sometimes taken for granted in pursuit of control over the future.

Bryant, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist and one of the most decorated basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter crash last month along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was also a budding hoopster.

"Firstly, it was a shock to everyone. I grew up watching those NBA games in the morning and watching what he did on court. But when someone that you have looked up to in some ways, passes away like that, it does put things in perspective," Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand here.

"...at the end of the day, life can be so fickle. It's so unpredictable. I think a lot of the times we get too caught up in the pressures of what we have to do tomorrow...we really forget living life and enjoying life and just appreciating and being grateful for the life we have," he added.

Kohli said a tragedy like this makes one realise that nothing can be more important than enjoying every moment of existence.

"...it did put things in perspective for me massively. It just makes you feel like not wanting to have control of things in front of you all the time, and just embracing life and appreciating it.

"You start looking at things from a different point of view suddenly and you want to enjoy every moment you're going through. You realise that what you're doing at the end of the day is not the most important thing. The most important thing is life itself," Kohli signed off.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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