Inspiring Jacques Kallis leaves rich legacy in cricket

December 25, 2013

Jacques_KallisDurban, Dec 26: It turned out to be an emotional 12 months for test cricket as South Africa's Indefatigable warhorse Jacques Kallis quit the format, having cemented his place as statistically the greatest all-rounder ever and a modern great of the game.

Australian Ricky Ponting bowed out at Perth late last year while India plunged into deep depression when Sachin Tendulkar walked into the sunset amid much hype and fanfare in Mumbai last month.

Despite Kallis' stature in world cricket, emotions are unlikely to reach such levels when he walks out on Thursday for one last time in test whites against India at Durban - the same venue where he made his debut 18 years ago.

Tendulkar commanded idolatry while Ponting evoked awe but Kallis, despite his mind-boggling numbers, always managed to slip under the radar when it came to adulation.

This despite the fact that Kallis, fourth in the list of highest test run-accumulators, has an enviable average of 55.12.

To go with his 13,174 runs, Kallis has taken 292 wickets from 165 tests generating unsuspected pace and disconcerting bounce from even some of the most docile tracks.

His 577 international wickets will attest to the fact that tasked with breaking up partnerships, he has rarely let his captains down.

Along with West Indian great Gary Sobers, Kallis's all-round exploits will long be remembered.

When done with bowling, Kallis would take his cap back from the umpire and return to slip where his sure palms would pouch edges from tentative blades that comprise lion's share of the 199 test catches he has taken so far.

One of the handful batsmen to have scored 11,000-plus runs in both forms of the game, Kallis towered over a South African team that often looked up to him for inspiration.

SAVIOUR KNIGHT

"South Africans love their sporting heroes and Jacques is right up among the best," Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Chris Nenzani said.

"He has indeed been our knight in shining armour who has ridden to the rescue of our embattled troops on more occasions than I am sure he would wish to remember.

" CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat hailed Kallis as South Africa's best player ever.

"Jacques Kallis has simply been the Proteas Rock of Gibraltar ... He is a legend and his statistics speak volumes," said Lorgat.

"Like all great players Jacques' contribution cannot just be measured in runs, wickets and catches.

"He has been a tremendous source of inspiration and a mentor to some of his younger peers and I am sure that super stars like Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis would be the first to admit how much they relied on him.

" Nearly two decades of top flight cricket has taken its toll on his ageing body. His bowling has naturally lost some edge but his commitment never wavered.

"We were reminded again this past weekend what he means to the Proteas and what some of our opponents might well call an unfair advantage that he gives us," Lorgat said, referring to the drawn Johannesburg test against India.

"When (fast bowler) Morne Morkel was ruled out of the match through injury he simply stepped into the void, cranked up the speed gun and put his body on the line to deliver what we needed."

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July 20,2020

Vitoria, Jul 20: Lionel Messi won a record seventh top scoring title in the Spanish league after netting twice in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Alav s in the final round.

Messi ended with 25 goals, four more than Karim Benzema, who did not score in Real Madrid's 2-2 draw at Legan s.

Messi is the first player to finish as the league's top scorer in seven different seasons. He reached the milestone despite missing games because of an injury early in the season. The Argentine's 25 goals came in 33 matches.

Messi was tied with Telmo Zarra with six scoring titles. He has also now equaled Hugo Sanchez's feat of four straight top-scorer trophies.

"Individual achievements are always secondary," Messi said on Sunday.

"I wished it could have come along with the league title."

This is also the third successive season that Messi finished with the most assists 21 in the league.

Ansu Fati, Luis Su rez and Nelson Semedo also scored Sunday for Barcelona, which had already secured second place behind Madrid.

Fati opened the scoring in the 24th minute, Messi added to the lead 10 minutes later and Su rez closed the first-half scoring in the 44th. Semedo got on the board in the 57th and Messi in the 75th to help Barcelona rebound from a 2-1 home loss to Osasuna.

"Today things were different," Messi said.

"The team showed better attitude and commitment. It was an important step forward for us ahead of what's left in the season."

Barcelona now turns its focus to its Aug. 8 home game against Napoli in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The first leg, played before the break, ended 1-1.

Barcelona coach Quique Seti n finished under pressure after the team relinquished a two-point lead over Madrid when the league resumed following the pandemic break. It was four points back before Madrid's match at Legan s.

Barcelona defender Cl ment Lenglet had to be substituted early in the second half because of an apparent muscle injury.

Alav s, sitting in 15th, had already done enough to stay up.

BAR A "B" TEAM

American winger Konrad de la Fuente scored twice as Barcelona's "B" team beat Valladolid B to keep alive its hopes of reaching the second division next season. The victory put Barcelona in the second round of the promotion playoffs.

The 19-year-old De la Fuente, who recently had his contract with Barcelona extended through the 2021-22 season, scored in each half.

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January 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Opening batsman Rohit Sharma on Sunday became the third-fastest batsman to register 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

He achieved the feat in the ongoing third ODI against Australia here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Only Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have achieved the feat faster than Rohit.

Sharma brought up the milestone in the first over of the Indian innings as he clipped Mitchell Starc away for a single.

With this, the right-handed batsman has become just the sixth Indian to achieve the milestone.

Apart from Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar have more than 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

Overall, 20 batsmen have more than 9,000 ODI runs to their name.

In the match between India and Australia, the former won the toss and elected to bat first.

Steve Smith played a knock of 131 runs to propel Australia to 286/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

 

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May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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