Jadeja all-round show helps Chennai beat Rajasthan by 7 runs

April 24, 2014

Dubai, Apr 24: Ravindra Jadeja produced a brilliant all-round display after Dwayne Smith's fine batting show as Chennai Super Kings defended a modest total to beat Rajasthan Royals by seven runs in their IPL match here today.

Jadeja_all-roundPut into bat, Chennai scored 140 for six, thanks mainly to opener Smith's 28-ball 50 and Jadeja's crucial 36 not out lower down the order and then shot Rajasthan out for 133 in 19.5 overs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium to post their second consecutive win in the tournament.

Number 10 batsman, Dhawal Kulkarni, who top-scored for Rajasthan with an unbeaten 28 from 19 balls, threatened to take Rajasthan to an unlikely win by hitting a huge six in the final over to take his side to within nine runs from the last two balls. But, the number 11 batsman Pravin Tambe (2) was run out in the penultimate delivery to end the match.

Jadeja was the main tormentor of Rajasthan batsmen with his left-arm spin bowling with figures of four for 33 in his four overs, including two crucial wickets -- that of captain Shane Watson (7) and Sanju Samson (16) -- from consecutive balls in the seventh over.

Ishwar Pandey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mohit Sharma chipped in with a wicket each as Chennai bowlers made life difficult for Rajasthan batsmen with a disciplined effort.

Chasing 141 for a win, Rajasthan began on a bright note but lost wickets early on to put themselves on the backfoot. They failed to stitch any substantial partnership with 28 for the ninth wicket being the highest.

None of the Rajasthan batsmen could put up any resistance with number 10 Kulkarni being the top scorer and half of their side were back at the pavillion at 63 for five in 10.5 overs.

Some of Rajasthan batsmen, including captain Watson, went for big shots which led to their downfall and inability to save wickets.

From a bright start, Rajasthan were slumped to 57 for four at the halfway mark, needing 85 from the last 10 overs with six wickets in hand.

Any hopes of a Rajasthan victory was as good as over after Steven Smith (19) was out in the 13th over. Rajat Bhatia gave some fight with a belligerent 20-ball 23 which was studded with a four and a six but that turned out to be delaying the inevitable. Earlier, the highly rated Chennai top order batting suffered a collapse after opener Smith's scintillating display as they could score 140 for six.

Smith (50) tore into Rajasthan bowling attack with an impressive exhibition of strokeplay at the top but his batting colleagues failed to capitalise on the strong start after being put into bat.

Brendon McCullum (6), Suresh Raina (4), Faf du Plessis (7) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (5) were out cheaply on a slow pitch as Chennai, the team which possessed one of the strongest batting line-ups this season, failed to put up a big score.

But for Jadeja , who scored an unbeaten 36 off 33 balls lower down the order, Chennai score would have been even lower.

Half of their side were back in the pavillion just after the halfway mark as they were reduced to 74 for five in 11.1 overs. Their biggest partnership was the 39 between Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin (9 not out) for the unconquered seventh wicket.

Smith scored exactly 50 from just 28 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes. He was out in the eighth over off Stuart Binny just after smashing the bowler for a six.

James Faulkner suffered the most from the blade of Smith who hit four successive boundaries off the bowler in the sixth over which yielded 19 runs.

Rajasthan, however, came back into the match with Rajat Bhatia taking the wicket of Raina.

Chennai then lost the wickets of du Plessis and Dhoni in the 11th and 12th overs to find themselves in a precarious position at 74 for five.

Mithun Manhas (10) fell in the 15th over and the responsibility of taking Chennai to a respectable score was left to Jadeja and Ashwin.

For Rajasthan Rajat Bhatia was the most successful bowler with two wickets for 13 runs. Faulkner, Pravin Tambe and Stuart Binny chipped in with a wicket each.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

New Delhi, Feb 20: Grappler Divya Kakran on Thursday became the second Indian woman to win a gold medal at the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championship.

Divya, a bronze medallist at Asian Games 2018, earned her first gold by winning all her four bouts against Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Japan.

Her final bout against Naruha Matsuyuki of Japan was the closest one but she managed to outclass her opponent 6-4 to seal her name on the gold medal. The 68 kg category was played in round-robin format as only five wrestlers were in the fray.

India is likely to add some more medals to its tally when Nirmala Devi, Pinki, and Sarita go out to grapple for the yellow metal in their respective weight categories.

Three-time Commonwealth championship gold medallist, Nirmala Devi (50 kg) first defeated Munkhnar Byambasuren of Mongolia in the quarterfinals by 6-4 to reach the semis.

In the semi-finals, Nirmala got the better of Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova of Uzbekistan by 10-0 and will play against 2018 Under-23 World Champion Miho Igarashi of Japan for the gold medal.

Pinki (55 kg) started her day on a winning note against Shokhida Akhmedova of Uzbekistan by 12-4 in round 3 and lost to Kana Higashikawa of Japan to enter the semis where she defeated Marina Zuyeva of Kazakistan by a score of 6-0.

Pinki will play in the gold medal bout against Dulguun Bolormaa of Mongolia.

Sarita (59 kg) will now face Battsetseg Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the gold medal bout after winning against her opponents in the qualifiers, quarterfinals and semi-final by a score of 10-0, 11-0 and 10-3, respectively.

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News Network
March 12,2020

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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