IPL 2015: Mumbai Indians crush CSK by 41 runs to lift 2nd trophy

May 25, 2015

Kolkata, May 25: Mumbai Indians' love affair with Eden Gardens continued as they clinched their second IPL title following a crushing 41-run win over Chennai Super Kings in a lop-sided summit clash, here tonight.

Mumbai Indians posted an imposing 202 for five as skipper Rohit Sharma (50) and Lendl Simmons (68) rattled up a 119-run stand off just from 67 balls after being invited to bat.

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The Mumbai captain, who has an ODI world record of 264 and also a debut Test hundred at the Eden Gardens, yet again exploded at his favourite venue.

Sharma (6 fours, 2 sixes) and Simmons (8 fours 3 sixes) plundered 19 boundaries in their partnership.

After Sharma and Pollard's dismissal in consecutive balls, burly West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard (36) in the company of Ambati Rayudu (36 not out) led the side past 200.

Mumabi bowlers complimented the good work of the batsmen as they took the fizz out of the Chennai's chase with a very disciplined effort.

They straitjacketed the Chennai batsmen, restricting them to 161 for eight as seasoned spinner Harbhajan Singh took key wickets of Dwayne Smith (57) and Suresh Raina (28) in two overs.

Kiwi paceman Mitchell McClenaghan (3/25) took three wickets while his Lankan pace colleague Lasaith Malinga (2/25) scalped two batsmen.

Mumbai had won their first title in 2013 at this very venue, defeating the same rivals. Chennai have now lost four finals (2008, 2012, 2013, 2015) in six appearances.

Chasing the huge target, CSK opted to have it easy and concetrated on building a platform after losing Michael Hussey (4) early.

Smith and Raina bided their time and looked to consolidate but it meant that they managed only 31 runs from the first six overs. The required run-rate kept on going up and shot past 13 at the midway mark.

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Smith completed his half-century in 45 balls but only to be trapped lbw by Harbhajan in his penultimate over. Having made a grand comeback into the Bangladesh-bound Test side, Harbhajan completed his spell in style dismissing Raina.

Looking to step out, Raina was brilliantly deceived by the veteran off-spinner who bowled a wide ball and Parthiv Patel did the rest behind the stumps.

With Hussey, Smith and Raina back in pavillion, and skipper Dhoni not looking in his usual elements it looked as good as over for the yellow brigade who choked in an IPL final for a fourth time.

Talk about Sharma and his sizzling love-affair at Eden Gardens, and he has done nothing wrong here. A stunning 177 on Test debut, an ODI world record of mindboggling 264, an IPL century (60-ball 109) against Kolkata Knight Riders and an unbeaten 98 in the opening match of this season.

Today was no different. Sharma had come at a time when Dhoni and Co. once again looked ominous with a eye-popping run-out by Faf du Plessis to make MI 1/1 in first over.

The South African dived, got hold of the ball and flicked it while being air-borne and the magical throw was enough to clip the bails off to bring an end to Patel's fine run as an opener.

In came Sharma and after two dot balls, he went in counter-attacking mode hitting Mohit Sharma over third man with an elegant uppercut.

He survived a brief scare when he in inside edged one but the ball missed the stumps by a whisker as he blasted 16 runs in the second over that almost derailed CSK.

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He not only timed the shots to perfection but the placements were clinical too. Sharma raced to 25 runs from 10 balls and Windies big-hitter Simmons at one point looked a mute spectator at the other end.

The MI duo raced to 50 in 28 balls and the powerplay yielded a handsome 61/1 as they complemented each other nicely.

With Simmons starting to take charge, Sharma slowed down a bit and rotated the strike cleverly giving his partner maximum opportunity. The Windies big hitter targeted Dhoni's spin duo of Ashwin and Negi with massive sixes.

Nothing going in their way, Simmons was dropped by Negi on 48 as he raced to fifty ahead of Sharma in 35 balls.

Sharma drove Dwayne Bravo for a boundary to notch his 50 from 25 balls but only to be dismissed softly in the next ball hitting straight to Jadeja at long-on.

Such agonising was the partnership for CSK that Dhoni and Co huddled soon after Sharma's dismissal and skipper opted part-timer Dwyane Smith to bowl the next over.

Dhoni's magic worked straightway as Simmons followed suit after being bowled in Smith's first ball -- a slow yorker that he misjudged -- to make them 120/3 in 12.1 overs.

The twin blow however proved to be too little too late as Rayudu and Pollard propelled to a winning total.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Feb 13: Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were buried in a private funeral service in Southern California last week, multiple outlets reported late Tuesday.

Citing Kobe Bryant's death certificate, Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV reported the remains of the former Lakers star and his daughter were transferred to Pacific View Memorial Park and Mortuary in Corona del Mar. Kobe and Brianna were laid to rest in a private ceremony there last Friday.

According to KTTV, the death certificate cited Kobe's cause of death as "blunt trauma" sustained in a "commercial helicopter crash." It also said his death was "rapid."

Corona del Mar is a community within Newport Beach, where the Bryant family lives.

Kobe, 41, and Gianna, 13, were among nine people killed when the helicopter they were in crashed on a hillside in Calabasas, Calif., northwest of Los Angeles, on Jan. 26. Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, 56; his wife, Keri; and their daughter Alyssa, 14 -- who played on the same club basketball team as Gianna Bryant -- also were killed. Christina Mauser, a 38-year-old who was the top assistant coach of the Mamba girls basketball team, was also killed in the accident, as were Sarah Chester, 45; her daughter Payton Chester, 13; and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50.

A public memorial service for the Bryants will be held Feb. 24 at Staples Center, beginning at 10 a.m. PT.

While the date -- 2/24 -- conveniently falls between two Lakers' home games, it still could have been chosen symbolically. Gianna -- one Kobe and Vanessa' four daughters -- wore No. 2 on her basketball jersey while Kobe was No. 24 for part of his 20-year-tenure with the Lakers, and his retired jerseys -- he also wore No. 8 -- hang at Staples Center.

The Los Angeles Times reported that "entry is expected to be severely restricted" at the venue despite Staples Center's capacity of about 20,000.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Mumbai, Jan 13: India captain Virat Kohli indicated at dropping himself down the batting order to accommodate both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the playing XI against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series starting Tuesday.

With vice-captain Rohit Sharma an automatic pick, the team management is left with tough choice of selecting either Dhawan or Rahul in the XI. But the skipper sees no reason why both can't play together.

"Look, a guy in form is always good for the team. ...You obviously want to have the best players available and then chose from what the combination should be for the team. There might be a possibility that all three (Rohit, Shikhar and Rahul) might play. It will be interesting to see what balance we want to take in on the field," Kohli said on the eve of the match.

Asked if he would he be happy to bat lower down the order, Virat said,"Yeah, big possibility. I would be very happy to do so. Look I am not possessive about where I play. I am not insecure about where I bat," said the skipper.

For Kohli, it is more important as to what kind of leadership legacy he leaves behind rather than chase personal glory.

"Being the captain of the team, it is my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way, but your job as a captain is not only to look after the team right now, but also to prepare a team that you leave behind when you eventually pass it onto someone else," he added.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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