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India vs Afghanistan, one-off Test: Afghanistan fight back as India reach 347-6 on Day 1

Agencies
June 14, 2018

Jun 14: Afghanistan displayed their stomach for a fight in their maiden test by claiming five wickets in the final session to leave India on 347 for six after the opening day of the one-off contest on Thursday. India`s Shikhar Dhawan and fellow centurion Murali Vijay raised 168 runs for the opening stand to vindicate the decision to bat as the hosts cruised to 280 for one after thoroughly dominating the first two sessions.

Afghanistan, who became the 12th test playing nation, clawed their way back in the final session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium with some lion-hearted efforts by the bowlers against their top-ranked hosts. Hardik Pandya was batting on 10 with Ravichandran Ashwin on seven at the other end when stumps were drawn.

Earlier, Dhawan became the first Indian to smash a century in the first session of a test as he and Vijay capitalised on Afghanistan`s limited bowling resources built around their spinners. Left-handed Dhawan batted in the limited-overs mode to smash 107 off 96 balls, his blistering knock had 19 fours and three sixes.

Seamer Yamin Ahmadzai claimed Afghanistan`s first wicket in test cricket after the lunch break when Dhawan edged him to Rahmat Shah, who deflected it towards the safe hands of Mohammad Nabi at first slip. Vijay then took charge and punished Afghanistan`s three-pronged spin attack of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman and Nabi on both sides of the wicket.

However, the tourists struck back in the final session. Vijay fell leg-before after offering no shot to a Wafadar delivery to depart for 105. The right-hander`s 12th test century included 15 boundaries and a six.

Two balls later, Lokesh Rahul, promoted to number three ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara, chopped an innocuous Ahmadzai delivery onto his stumps to depart after a fluent 54.

Leading the Indian side in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, who is recovering from a neck injury, Rahane made 10 before becoming Rashid`s maiden test victim.

Pujara scored 35, while stumper Dinesh Karthik, playing his first test in eight years, made four before being run out in the frantic third session.

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Agencies
January 14,2020

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Agencies
August 6,2020

New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.

The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".

Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.

The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.

However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.

The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.

The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.

This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.

However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.

Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.

However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.

"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.

"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.

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News Network
July 6,2020

New Delhi, Jul 6: India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly says improved fitness standards and a change in culture have led to the country developing one of the world's best pace attacks.

Spearheads Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are part of a battery of five formidable quick bowlers that have helped change India's traditional reliance on spin bowling.

"You know culture has changed in India that we can be good fast bowlers," Ganguly said in a chat hosted on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Twitter feed.

"Fitness regimes, fitness standards not only just among fast bowlers but also among the batters, that has changed enormously. That has made everyone understand and believe that we are fit, we are strong and we can also bowl fast like the others did."

The West Indies dominated world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s led by a fearsome pace attack that included all-time greats such as Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner.

Recently Indian quicks have risen to the top in world cricket with Shami, Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a deadly arsenal.

"The West Indies in my generation were naturally strong," the former India captain said.

"We Indians were never such naturally strong... but we worked hard to get strong. But I think it is the change in culture as well that is very important."

Shami last month claimed that the current Indian pace attack may be the best in Test history.

"You and everyone else in the world will agree to this -- that no team has ever had five fast bowlers together as a package," said Shami.

"Not just now, in the history of cricket, this might be the best fast-bowling unit in the world."

Shami took 13 wickets during India's 3-0 home Test sweep over South Africa last year, while Bumrah has claimed 68 scalps in 14 Tests since his debut.

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