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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News Network
July 5,2020

Colombo, Jul 5: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis was on Sunday arrested for knocking down a pedestrian while driving, police said.

Mendis hit a 74-year-old man, killing him in the wee hours, in the Colombo suburb of Panadura.

He is to be produced before a magistrate later today, police said.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has represented Sri Lanka in 44 Tests and 76 ODIs. Mendis was part of the national squad which had resumed training after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

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Agencies
June 23,2020

Belgrade, June 23: Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia.

The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar, Croatia.

His wife also tested positive. “The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena's, while the results of our children are negative," Djokovic said in a statement.

Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Viktor Troicki said Tuesday that he and his pregnant wife have both been diagnosed with the virus, while Grigor Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, said Sunday he tested positive.

Borna Coric played Dimitrov on Saturday in Zadar and said Monday he has also tested positive. There were no social distancing measures observed at the matches in either country and Djokovic and other players were seen hugging each other and partying in night clubs and restaurants after the matches.

 “Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” Djokovic said.

“Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region.” Djokovic, who has previously said he was against taking a vaccine for the virus even if it became mandatory to travel, was the face behind the Adria Tour, a series of exhibition events that started in the Serbian capital and then moved to Zadar.

He left Croatia after the final was canceled and was tested in Belgrade. The statement said Djokovic was showing no symptoms.

Despite the positive test, Djokovic defended the exhibition series. “It was all born with a philanthropic idea, to direct all raised funds towards people in need and it warmed my heart to see how everybody strongly responded to this,” Djokovic said.

"We organized the tournament at the moment when the virus has weakened, believing that the conditions for hosting the Tour had been met. “Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with.”

Djokovic said he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days and also apologized to anyone who became infected as a result of the series. Organizers of the Adria Tour said the third stage of the event, scheduled to held next week in Bosnia, has been cancelled.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Indore, Jan 7: With the first T20I being washed out, India and Sri Lanka will now hope that rain gods stay away from the Holkar Stadium when the two teams face each other in the second match of the ongoing three-game series on Tuesday.

Only toss could take place on Sunday at Guwahati`s Barsapara Cricket Ground before rain gods came in and left damp spots on the pitch thus forcing the game to be called off without a ball being bowled.

Hairdryers were used to dry the pitch after water seeped in through leaking covers at the Barsapara Stadium, a sight which is not usually seen in international cricket. And that hasn`t gone down well with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which now awaits chief curator Ashish Bhowmick`s report on the same.

The Men in Blue, who enjoyed a brief break, are coming into the series on the back of T20I series victories against Bangladesh and West Indies respectively and thus would be the more confident side out of the two.

Just like Guwahati, the team management and other Indian cricket fans would focus on comeback man Jasprit Bumrah who is making his return to international cricket. Bumrah has been out of action after India`s tour of the West Indies in July-August due to a stress fracture on his back and thus would be rearing to go and perform for the team.

Dhawan, like Bumrah, was not part of the West Indies series after he hurt his knee during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The left-handed opener was not at his absolute best in the T20I series against Bangladesh and faced criticism from several quarters.

While Bumrah will grab more eyeballs during the remaining two matches, the series is also important for left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, making a comeback into the team post knee injury.

However, recently, he scored a century in the Ranji Trophy and showed glimpses of returning to form.

In the bowling department, the team management would be checking out how the likes Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur react to pressure situations in death overs alongside Bumrah in the absence of frontline speedsters Mohammed Shami Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Young-off spinner Washington Sundar would like to put up performances to ensure that he gets to be part of the squad travelling to Australia for the World T20 in October.

Shivam Dube would also like to perform better - both with bat and ball - till Hardik Pandya is fully fit and back in action.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant - like recent times - will once again be watched with careful eyes. Pant knows that he cannot take things lightly and need to perform as Sanju Samson as already warmed the benches for six straight T20Is.

For Sri Lanka, the remaining two matches of the series would be about giving match practice to the likes of Angelo Mathews who is returning to the national side having last played a T20I against South Africa in August 2018

In their last T20I series, Sri Lanka suffered a 0-3 rout in Australia as all their three departments failed to put in a commanding performance.

India and Sri Lanka have faced each other in 17 T20Is, out of which India have won 11 -- joint most for them against all opponents faced in shortest format.

With the three-match series now effectively turning into a two-game affair, both India and Sri Lanka would want to win in Indore to make sure they can`t lose the series. Also, Sri Lanka have never beaten India in a bilateral T20I series, a record which they would desperately like to change in the remaining two games.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.

Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (c), Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya De Silva, Isuru Udana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan, Kasun Rajitha.

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