IPL 2019: Samson’s ton in vain as Rajasthan succumb to Hyderabad’s all-round effort

Agencies
March 30, 2019

Hyderabad, Mar 30: Sanju Samson’s second Indian Premier League ton was overshadowed by David Warner’s blistering fifty as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets to register their first win in the ongoing edition of the tournament on Friday.

Samson’s first century of the ongoing IPL went in vain, as chasing a mammoth 199-run target, Warner set up the platform for Sunrisers with a breezy 69 off 37 balls and together with Jonny Bairstow (45 off 28) added a century stand for the opening wicket to spoil Rajasthan’s day.

Sunrisers needed the quick start if they fancy their chances of eclipsing Rajasthan’s imposing 198 for two and Warner and Bairstow just provided that to give the impetus for the rest of the batsmen to follow as the hosts chased down the target in 19 overs.

Earlier, Samson smashed the first century of the ongoing IPL and together with skipper Ajinkya Rahane stitched a century stand to guide Rajasthan to a mammoth total.

Samson didn’t spare a single Sunrisers’ bowler and remained unbeaten on 102 that came off just 55 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes. It was Samson’s second IPL ton. His first century came in 2017.

Chasing the total, Warner looked in imperious form as he started clobbering the Rajasthan bowlers from the word go.

Sensing the demand of the situation, Warner, who hit 85 against Kolkata Knight Riders in a losing cause in their opener, went hammer and tongs from the beginning and struck fours and sixes at will to propel Sunrisers to 54 for no loss after five overs.

Together with Bairstow, Warner shared 110 runs in just 58 balls for the opening stand. But just when it seemed Warner would run away with the game, Ben Stokes foxed him with a perfect short ball as he was holed out by Dhawal Kulkarni at deep fine leg. Warner’s knock was studded with nine fours and two sixes.

It would have been double blow for Sunrisers but Kulkarni dropped Bairstow at thirdman a ball later. But Kulkarni made up for his mistake in the final ball of the next over, latching on to a fine catch at the long-off to sent Bairstow packing.

Skipper Kane Williamson (14) and Vijay Shankar (35 off 15) played aggressively to bring down the equation within reach but three quick wickets, that too in consecutive balls of Shreyas Gopal (3/27) in the 16th over, changed the complexion of the game.

But Yusuf Pathan (16 not out) and Rashid Khan (15 not out) played sensibly to overwhelm the target with ease.

Earlier, Rahane led from the front with 49-ball 70 and together with Samson shared 119 runs for the second wicket to set the base for the total.

Introduced into the attack in the fourth over, Rashid (1/24) struck with only his second ball, cleaning up Jos Buttler around his legs.

Rajasthan’s decision to bat first didn’t go according to plan, at least, in the powerplay as the visitors struggled against Sunrisers’ disciplined bowling to garner just 35 runs.

After Buttler’s dismissal, skipper Rahane was joined at the crease by Samson and the duo played cautiously without taking any undue risk to take Rajasthan forward.

While Rahane played the anchor’s role, Samson opened up his arms soon and smashed two sixes in consecutive overs of Shabaz Nadeem and Siddharth Kaul to give some momentum to Rajasthan’s innings.

Rahane soon joined his junior colleague and clobbered Nadeem straight over his head as Rajasthan reached 75 for one at the halfway stage. After a slow start, Rahane stepped on the accelerator and welcomed Vijay Shankar with six over deep square leg boundary.

Both Rahane and Samson paced their innings to perfection, as after playing cautiously initially, they broke their shackles when needed and notched up the team’s 100 in 11.5 overs. Rahane registered his first fifty of the ongoing IPL in 38 balls while Samson brought up his half-century in 34 deliveries as the duo raised 100-run stand for the second wicket in 65 balls.

Rahane finally departed in the 16th over bowled by Nadeem, holed out by Manish Pandey at long-on as he went for a big shot. He struck four boundaries and three sixes.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s torrid time at the death overs continued. If it was Andre Russell in the last match, it was Samson Friday as the young Kerala batsman too the senior pacer to cleaners, hitting him for four boundaries and one six to pick up 24 runs in the 18th over.

As if that was not enough, Bhuvneshwar witnessed yet another forgettable day as he leaked 21 runs in the last over.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Jan 6: Former India opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday said he would prefer K L Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in the T20 World Cup later this year.

Former India opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday said he would prefer K L Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in the T20 World Cup later this year.

Dhawan is returning to international cricket after a long gap. During the senior left-handed batsman's absence, Rahul has emerged as one of the top contenders for the opener's slot in limited-overs cricket.

"Runs against SL (Sri Lanka) don't count. If I was chairman of selectors, I won't pick Dhawan in the T20 WC squad. There is no competition between him and Rahul. Only one winner," Srikkanth said on Star Sports.

Before the series, the 34-year-old Dhawan said that he is looking forward to a "new start" in a new year and wants to win the World Cup for India.

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News Network
February 21,2020

New Delhi, Feb 21: Vinesh Phogat yet again fell to Japanese nemesis Mayu Muakida to go out of the gold medal race but Sakshi Malik will fight for the title after winning her semifinal bout at the Asian Wrestling Championship, here on Friday.

Vinesh had lost twice to Mukaida in 2019 – at World Championship and Asian Championships —and the trend continued as the gritty Indian yet again struggled to break the strong defence of the Japanese.

In a tough opening round, Vinesh tried single leg attacks a number of times but every time Mukaida blocked her move and eventually got the upper body lock to subdue the home favourite.

In her last two meetings, Vinesh had not scored a single point against the 2019 world silver medallist. She managed a takedown this time before eventually losing 2-6.

The hard-working Vinesh will now fight for bronze against Vietnam's Thi Ly Kieu but even a medal won't suffice to lift her mood as she and the fans have high expectations from her.

Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who has been struggling of late, lost her opening round 1-2 to Naomi Ruike from Japan but later overcame two weak opponents to eventually reach the final of the non-Olympic 65kg category.

She could hardly attack Naomi but outplayed Korea's Ohyoung Ha in the next round, winning by technical superiority.

In her semifinal against Uzbekistan's Nabira Esenbaeva, Sakshi led 5-0 but her rival pulled off consecutive two-point moves to make it 5-4.

Sakshi has been losing in closing stages of late but this time she managed to hold on to her narrow lead, surviving anxious last two seconds.

Also in medal contention are India's brightest youngsters Sonam Malik (62kg) and Anshu Malik (57kg).

Sonam, who had defeated Sakshi in the trials, showed good tactical mind in her resounding win against Korea's Hanbit Lee and also in the 2-5 defeat against world bronze medallist Yukako Kawai.

She pulled off a superb point-scoring move from a disadvantageous position and resisted the 2018 U-23 world champion Yukako in a good fashion.

She will now fight for bronze against Aisuluu Tynbekova.

Anshu Malik opened up her campaign against Kyrgyzstan's Nuraida Anarkulova, winning by technical superiority but was outplayed by reigning world champion from Japan Riskao Kawai.

She will have to beat Sevara Eshmuratova from Uzbekistan to grab a bronze.

In the non-olympic 72kg, Gursharanpreet Kaur is in bronze medal contention. She beat Uzbekistan's Svetlana Oknazarova but lost to Kazakhstan's Zhamila Bakberzenova.

She still made it to the semifinal in which she lost to Japan's Mei Shindo.

She is now up against Mongloia's Tsevegmed Enkhbayar.

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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