New Delhi, Dec 5: India declared their second innings at 246 for five on the fourth day of the third and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka here today.
India set Sri Lanka a target of 410 for victory.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka: 373 all out
India: 536/7d & 246 for 5 decl in 52.2 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 67, Virat Kohli 50, Rohit Sharma 50 not out).
New Delhi, Jun 18: Premier Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has described Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a "massive influence" on his career, revealing that at the beginning of his IPL stint, he was driven by an intense desire to get the former captain's attention.
Ashwin got his contract with CSK, one of the most successful IPL sides, in 2008 and said the stint with CSK shaped his career.
"IPL and CSK is a stage that everyone wants. For me it was more about recognition. MSD did not know who Ashwin is, (Matthew) Hayden and (Muttiah) Muralithan did not know who Ashwin is. The first thing that came to my mind was that 'I will show these people that Ashwin is here'," Ashwin told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.
"I don't know it was being foolish or arrogance but that was how I was made. Nobody was giving me a chance that Ashwin will play alongside Muralitharan or ahead of Muralitharan. I thought, I will get there ahead of him one day," he added.
Ashwin said Dhoni, who led CSK, had "massive influence" on him and the only way to impress him was by troubling him in the nets.
"I got the eye of Hayden, Jacob Oram, and Stephen Fleming while bowling to them at the nets. They were finding it difficult to face me in the first year (2008) but I had not caught the eye of MSD," he said.
"I never had massive interactions with him. It was going to the nets and getting MSD...he was hitting Muralitharan out of the park and I thought, if I bowl better than him, I met get to play ahead of Murali.
" I got his attention when I got him during a Challenger trophy and celebrated like a crazy kid," he recalled.
After that, Ashwin said during CSK's match against Victoria Bushrangers in the now defunct Champions League, he volunteered to bowl the Super Over and Dhoni gave him the ball without hesitation.
Ashwin did not fare well and ended up conceding 23 runs. The off-spinner said when Dhoni walked past him after the match, he only said that, "you should have bowled the carrom ball."
"MS always maintained that you are exceptionally skilful and you should keep doing what you do."
Ashwin has been very successful against the left-handers as 189 of his 365 wickets are of southpaws. Ashwin credited his engineering background and advice from Duncan Fletcher for the success.
"He made a statement that changed cricket. He said it's all about geometry and left it at that. Understanding angles (engineering background) has given me edge over others," he said.
Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.
Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.
"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.
"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.
"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."
The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.
"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.
Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.
Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.
Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.
"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.
Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!
"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.
The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.
"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.
Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.
Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .
Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.
While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.
Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.
Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.
"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.
During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".
In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate."
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