Indian Women Beat South Africa by 54 Runs, Clinch T20 Series 3-1

Agencies
February 25, 2018

Cape Town, Feb 25: Indian women accomplished a 'historic double' as they outclassed South Africa women by 54 runs in the fifth and final Twenty20 International to clinch the series 3-1, in Cape Town on Saturday, 24 February.

After Mithali Raj led the side to a 2-1 series win in the ODIs, it was Harmanpreet Kaur's turn to lift the trophy as they become the first cricket team to win two formats in the Rainbow nation.

It was Mithali's (62 off 50 balls) experience complemented by youthful exuberance of Jemimah Rodrigues (44 off 34 balls) that enabled India to register par score of 166 for four in 20 overs.

South Africa were never in the match as they were skittled out for 112 in 18 overs with veteran Rumeli Dhar (3/26 in 4 overs) making a mark in the very second match on her return to the side after six years.

Shikha Pandey (3/16 in 4 overs) was certainly the best bowler on view while left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (3/26 in 3 overs) had an easy job with the top half blown away by the seamers.

The win also showed that Indian women's performance in the ICC ODI World Cup wasn't a mere flash in pan and the women showed little rustiness even though they played their first series in seven months. The big positive was winning a T20 series – a format where the Indian women have not done well traditionally.

"It was a two-paced track to bat on but it became easier to play shots at the later stages. But it's always nice to be among runs," Raj, who scored 192 runs in four innings with three half-centuries, said after the match. She won both 'Player of the Match and Series' award for her consistent scores.

Skipper Harmanpreet on her part spoke about how the series win will bolster their confidence as they get ready to take on Australia and England at home.

"I thought we were 20 runs short but our bowlers performed exceptionally. I thought Mithali di and Jemi (Jemimah) batted well. I though Shikha and PY (Poonam Yadav) really bowled well," the skipper said.

Mithali started with a couple of boundaries off seamer Shabnim Ismail before launching onto medium pacer Masabata Klaas. She hit another couple of sixes -- one off off-break bowler Raisibe Ntozakhe and other off rival captain Dane van Niekerk -- both over long-on.

She first hit a boundary and then lofted her over long-off for the first six.

Along with 17 year old Jemimah, Mithali added 98 runs for the second wicket.

The most talked about teenager in women's cricket circuit, Jemimah played her first innings of note at the international level and despite being pint-sized, she packed a punch in her shots.

Rodrigues also punished Ntozakhe hitting her through cover for a boundary and also a six over mid-wicket.

When Ismail came for her second spell, the teen sensation lofted her effortlessly over long-on for a six.

Interestingly, Mithali had made her one day international debut (June, 1999), 15 months before Jemimah was born in September 2000.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Skipper Virat Kohli has become the first Indian to reach the 50M followers mark on social media platform Instagram. Kohli, who is breaking cricketing records with each passing match, has a great social media following.

The 31-year old has so far made 930 posts on the platform and his social media posts continue to enthrall fans worldwide. Overall, Instagram's official account has the most number of followers and it is followed by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 200M followers.

In terms of Indians with most number of followers, Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra is on the second spot with 49.9 followers while Deepika Padukone is on the third place with 44.1 followers.

Last year, Kohli had become the most successful Indian Test captain, surpassing Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Currently, Kohli is in action against New Zealand and his side would take on the hosts in the two-match Test series, slated to commence from February 21.

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said people seem to have become more compassionate while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped the sense of gratitude towards frontline workers like doctors and police personnel remains even after the crisis is over.

Speaking in an online class organised by "Unacademy", Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma spoke at length about the challenges they faced before tasting success.

"The one positive out of this crisis that we as a society have become more compassionate. We are showing more gratitude to the frontline workers in this war, be it police personnel, doctors or nurses.

"I hope it stays this way even after we overcome this crisis," said Kohli with Sharma seated next to her.

Kohli said the pandemic has taught the world a very important lesson.

"Life is unpredictable. So, do what makes you happy and not get into comparisons all the time. People have a choice now how to come out of this phase. Life is going to be different after this," said the skipper.

For Sharma, the pandemic has forced people to care about the basics in life.

"There is a learning in all of this. Nothing happens without a reason. If the frontline workers were not there, we would not have access to basics," she said..

"This has taught us that no one is special than the other. Health is everything. We are more connected as a society now," she added.

During the session, Kohli was asked about the moment when he felt most helpless.

"I felt nothing was working for me when I was not picked for the state team initially. I cried the whole night and asked my coach 'why did I not get selected'?" he responded.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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