India vs England Test: Murali Vijay's century takes India to a comfortable position on Day 1

July 10, 2014

Murali Vijays centuryNottingham, Jul 10: Elated at scoring his maiden overseas hundred and fourth of his career, Indian opener Murali Vijay on Wednesday said his fine effort on the opening day of the first Test against England here was a dream come true for him.

Vijay remained unbeaten on 122 at stumps on day one on Wednesday, taking India to 259/4 after the visitors had won the toss and elected to bat first.

"I had been hitting the ball well in practice games and in the nets. So I was in a positive frame of mind and wanted to give the team a good start. The pitch was good to bat on and I wanted to cash in this opportunity. I have dreamt of this and it is a happy feeling for me," said Vijay at the press conference after the day's play.

Vijay had been getting starts in his last eight Test innings in South Africa and New Zealand, but yielded only one half century. It was something that perhaps played on his mind, but the batsman said that he did not change his approach, knowing that the runs will come.

"I cannot make any excuses for what happened there. I did get some good balls and I got out but at the end of the day the runs were not there on the board. So I learnt from that and I moved forward without thinking too much about it," he said.

"Patience is something that I have been working on. You need to bide your time at the crease and not be in a hurry. It is a five-day game and you want to tire the opposition out. So that has been my game-plan and this is what I have been working on all this while. Once you get set and the rhythm gets going, you enjoy in the middle," he added.

While Vijay was stroking his way through to the century, things started to go wrong for India in the second session when two quick wickets fell. But he added 71 runs with Ajinkya Rahane and then 81 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to help India to safety.

"After lunch it was reversing a bit and it was also a little windy. Anderson and Broad got the ball to move around a bit and we lost a couple of wickets as a result. So we had to regroup. We are not worried about their reverse swing because we have seen them deploy it in the past series and we have prepared for it," he said.

Asked if he was anxious to get to his hundred after staying on 99 for quite some time, he said, "No, not anxious. The bowlers were trying to bounce me, so I was just seeing it off. That's all."

There has been a lot of talk about the pitch in the English camp. But as a batsman the Indian centurion seemed content.

"It is a good wicket for your first day of a Test series in England. The ball is easily coming to the bat. People have spoken about cloud cover and the ball swinging, so hopefully we will see that when it is out turn to bowl," Vijay said.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Melbourne, Jun 20: If 15 teams can be allowed to enter Australia for the T20 World Cup then fans will not be stopped from watching live action from the stadiums, Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Saturday.

Hockley replaced under-fire Kevin Roberts, who recently got the boot from Cricket Australia, which is grappling with financial woes.

Different possibilities are being worked out for the T20 World to go ahead as scheduled later this year and one of them is to host the tournament before empty stands in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hockley said crowds will be allowed, though, hosting 15 teams with players, officials and support staff is "complex" as of now, hinting that probably the ICC flagship event could be pushed back.

"The reality is, and we've got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country," Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked if he would like to see the World Cup proceed without fans.

"If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise."

When specifically asked whether crowds would be permitted by the time borders have opened to the point that 15 teams will be allowed to travel to Australia, Hockley replied in an affirmative.

"That's the current thinking, yes."

Hockley said it came as a shock when he was asked by Cricket Australia to replace Roberts.

"I've had very mixed emotions. I was very shocked to be asked. I didn't see it coming at all, so I probably haven't had time yet to process it. I feel very sad for Kev (Roberts). On the other hand, I feel this is a massive privilege to be asked, it's a massive responsibility and a massive opportunity even if it's only for the next few months," he said.

Hockey did not commit when asked if he would like to assume the role full time, but he did say that he would quit as CEO of the T20 World Cup Organising Committee.

"My approach throughout my entire career has been to focus on doing the best job I can with what I've been tasked with, and the future will look after itself. And I'll continue the same approach.

"That's (T20 World Cup) been a real priority over the last 48 hours. We're reasonably well progressed and we will be appointing an interim because you just can't do both," he said.

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News Network
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).

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