India vs Australia, ICC World Cup 2019: India ring warning bell, beat Australia by 36 runs

Agencies
June 10, 2019

London, Jun 10: Shikhar Dhawan's classy hundred and a quality bowling effort powered India to a 36-run victory over Australia, denying two fallen heroes a fairytale script while sounding a warning bell for their opponents in the World Cup on Sunday.

The legend of Dhawan in ICC tournaments continued to grow as his stylish 117 formed the cornerstone of a fantastic batting display that propelled India to a commanding 352 for five.

In reply, Australia never looked like getting there as they managed only 316 in 50 overs with Steve Smith (69 off 70 balls) and David Warner's (56 off 84 balls) half-centuries being of little consequence.

After a professional run-chase against South Africa in the opener, the second match saw the 'Men In Blue' burying the five-time world champions under a deluge of runs. An astounding 131 dot balls (21.5 overs) were bowled by Indian bowlers which ultimately made the difference.

Warner's innings was an antithesis to his style of play and pegged Australia back before he was sent back by Yuzvendra Chahal (2/62 in 10 overs). Still Australia was in with a slim chance till Usman Khawaja (42) and Smith were at the crease.

Khawaja shuffled way too much trying to play a scoop behind square and was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah (3/61 in 10 overs), and Australia lost whatever momentum they had gained.

Smith, who played his usual shuffling across the off-stump game, looked threatening but an asking rate of 10 put immense pressure, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got him with one that angled in to catch him in-front of stumps. It was a nice comeback for Bhuvneshwar (3/50 in 10 overs), who was hit for three boundaries by Glenn Maxwell.

Once Smith was gone, the game was as good as over for Australia even though Alex Carey helped himself to a half-century (55 not out off 35 balls). Having beaten South Africa and Australia in the first two games, India will now be considered as the team to beat in this tournament.

Earlier, Dhawan, during his 17th ODI hundred, found perfect support from fellow opener Rohit Sharma (57 off 70 balls) in a stand of 127. He then joined forces with Virat Kohli, consolidating the innings with a 93-run stand for the second wicket.

The skipper played a very effective knock with his two maximums off Mitchell Starc (1/74 off 10 overs) -- over long-on and extra cover -- being the stand-out shots of the game.

The last 10 overs yielded 116 runs, primarily due to generous contributions from the middle-order players Hardik Pandya and Mahendra Singh Dhoni along with their skipper.

The team's permanent floater, Pandya (48 off 27 balls) played in a manner only he can, and was the perfect icing on the cake on a flat Oval deck. Dhoni (27 off 14 balls) did his bit in putting the finishing touches, which included a six over square leg off Starc.

After skipper Kohli made the right call, the Indian openers played out a good spell from Starc and Pat Cummins (1/55 in 10 overs), with the latter pitching it up and repeatedly beating the bat.

What worked brilliantly for the Indian batsmen was the manner in which they planned which bowlers they wanted to go after.

They took 157 runs from 20 overs bowled by Marcus Stoinis (2/62 in 7 overs), Adam Zampa (0/50 in 6 overs) and Glenn Maxwell (0/45 in 7 overs).

Rohit was dropped on 2 by Nathan Coulter-Nile at square leg off Starc and from then, the Indian openers became more cautious.

Dhawan, who has a stupendous record at the Oval ground, where he averages over 120, waited for Coulter-Nile, and three boundaries in the eighth over eased the pressure.

The hero of Australia's match against West Indies, didn't have the pace to trouble the Indians and he bowled short enough to be cut and pulled by both the players. Rohit, for good measure, hooked him for a six while Dhawan played some fabulous cut shots.

Leg spinner Zampa, who was impressive against India in the last series, was targeted at the onset as both the openers used their feet to perfection. Once they started using their feet, the leg-spinner started dropping it short and Dhawan would rock onto the backfoot to punish him.

There's a saying in Indian cricket that if Dhawan gets his cover drive going, he is unstoppable and that's what happened on the day. Rohit was more subdued but it didn't matter as the Delhi southpaw's 16 hits to the fence set the tone.

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Berlin, May 17: Top-flight football in Germany kicked off again on the weekend, becoming the first major sports league in the world to resume play, as parts of Europe took more tentative steps towards normality after the devastation unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.

With the worldwide death toll past 310,000 and the global economy reeling from the vast damage caused by lockdowns, the reopenings in some of the hardest-hit countries provided much-needed relief from the pandemic.

The French returned to the beach and Italy announced a resumption of European tourism with outbreaks in Europe slowing, but the rising number of fatalities in the United States and Brazil were a grim reminder of the scale of the crisis, with more than 4.6 million infections reported globally.

With governments trying to reopen their economies while avoiding the second wave of infections that could necessitate more lockdowns, Germany's Bundesliga resumed its season on Saturday with games played in vacant, echoing stadiums.

League heavyweights Borussia Dortmund hosted rivals Schalke at the all-but-empty Signal Iduna Park -- which would usually be packed with more than 80,000 raucous fans.

"It's sad that matches are played in empty stadiums, but it's better than nothing," said 45-year-old Borussia Dortmund fan Marco Perz, beer in hand, as he prepared to watch the game on TV.

Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland became the first player to score a goal after the two-month shutdown and celebrated by dancing alone -- away from his applauding teammates -- in keeping with the strict hygiene guidelines which allowed the league to resume.

The only noise was the cheering and clapping of players and coaches.

League champions Bayern Munich will play Union Berlin in the capital on Sunday, with the resumption in Germany seen as a test case as other top sports competitions try to find ways to resume play without increasing health risks.

"The whole world will be looking at Germany, to see how we get it done," said Bayern boss Hansi Flick.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy, however, said Saturday he needed more guarantees before the government can give the green light for the resumption of its top football league, which is struggling with logistical difficulties as clubs try to arrange training sessions and quarantine facilities.

With the Northern Hemisphere's summer approaching, authorities are moving to help tourism industries salvage something from the wreckage.

Italy, for a long stretch the world's worst-hit country, announced that European Union tourists would be allowed to visit from June 3 and a 14-day mandatory quarantine would be scrapped.

"We're facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again," Conte said during a televised address.

"We have to accept it otherwise we will never be able to start up again."

In France, the first weekend after the strictest measures were lifted saw many ventures out into the spring sunshine -- and hit the beach.

In the Riviera city of Nice, keen swimmers jumped into the surf at daybreak.

"We were impatient because we swim here all year round," said retiree Gilles, who declined to give his full name.

With the threat of a second wave of infections on their minds, authorities in many countries have asked people not to throng public spaces like beaches as they are made accessible again.

Officials in parts of England on Saturday warned people to stay away from newly reopened beauty spots and avoid overcrowding.

Germany also saw the latest in a growing wave of anti-lockdown protests in many parts of the world, with rallies in major cities bringing together conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccine activists and other extremists.

There were similar protests in France, Switzerland and Poland.

Since emerging in China late last year, the coronavirus has whipped up a catastrophic economic storm, which has left tens of millions unemployed in the United States and many are wondering when a recovery will be possible.

With more than 88,000 deaths and 1.47 million confirmed coronavirus cases, the United States is the worst-hit country on the planet, and the administration of President Donald Trump has faced intense criticism of the way it has handled the crisis.

Former president Barack Obama took a swipe at the response to the pandemic, telling graduates at a virtual commencement ceremony that many leaders today "aren't even pretending to be in charge" -- a remark widely regarded as a rare rebuke of his successor.

Trump is keen to reopen the US economy -- the world's largest -- despite warnings from experts that infections could flare up again if social distancing measures are eased too quickly.

Forty-eight of the 50 US states have now eased lockdown rules to some extent.

Much like Trump and his political allies, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is also keen to end lockdowns, which he claims have unnecessarily damaged the South American nation's economy over a disease he has dismissed as "a little flu".

But the virus has continued its deadly march in Brazil, where the death toll passed 15,000 on Saturday and it became the country with the fourth-largest coronavirus caseload with 230,000 infections.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

Hamilton, Feb 5: Talented Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden century while KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli carried on their fine form as India dished out a clinical batting effort to post 347 for four against New Zealand in the first ODI here on Wednesday.

Iyer showed why he is considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, scoring 103 off 107 balls, his first ODI ton. Besides, Rahul continued his purple patch, smashing unbeaten 88 off 64 balls while Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries.

Iyer's knock was laced with 11 fours and a six and together with Rahul shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket as India scored 96 runs in the last 10 overs after being sent into bat.

This was after Tom Blundell featured his maiden ODI for the Black Caps, while India gave debuts to two openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal.

It was the fourth such instance in Indian history with Rahul-Karun Nair being the last such pair in 2016 against Zimbabwe.

Shaw and Agarwal got the innings off to quick start, adding 50 off 48 balls for the opening stand.

But both Shaw and Agarwal fell in the space of five balls as India were reduced to 54 for 2.

Shaw was the first to go, nicking behind a Colin de Grandhomme (1/41) delivery, while Agarwal was caught at point by Blundell off Southee (2/85).

It brought Kohli and Iyer together, and they dominated the middle overs with a 102-run stand for the third wicket. They manoeuvred the field well and kept the scorecard ticking as India crossed 150 in the 28th over.

Kohli fell against the run of play as a wrong one from Ish Sodhi (1/27) got through his defence to clip the leg stump.

Rahul though didn't let the innings lose any momentum as he smacked six sixes along with three fours.

But the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the stylish right-hander batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.

The centurion fell shortly afterwards, caught off Southee even as Rahul took control.

He reached his half-century off 41 balls as India eased past 300 in the 47th over.

Rahul's carnage meant that New Zealand conceded 191 runs in the last 20 overs. Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 off 27 balls with Rahul.

Brief Scores:

India: 347 for 4 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88 not out, Virat Kohli 51; Tim Southee 2/85).

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