Jadeja hits maiden hundred as India declare at 649/9

Agencies
October 5, 2018

Rajkot, Oct 5: Ravindra Jadeja ended a long wait for maiden Test ton as India declared after putting up a mammoth 649 for nine at tea on day two of the series opener here.

Jadeja struck an unbeaten 100 off 132 off balls as India extended their domination with the bat against a struggling West Indies.

His whirlwind effort in front of home crowd came after skipper Virat Kohli (139 off 230) completed his 24th Test hundred in the morning.

Jadeja had to wait till his 38th Test to reach three figures, having made his debut back in December 2012. Batting alongside with No. 11 Mohammad Shami, he experienced the nervous 90s before finally getting to the milestone in final over before tea.

It has been a good last 30 days for the southpaw, who scored a gritty 86 in the final Test in England before making an impressive ODI comeback with the Asia Cup in Dubai.

Jadeja enthralled the sparse crowd at SCA stadium with aerial hits which came mainly off the spinners. He ended up with five boundaries and as many sixes.

India scored 143 runs in the session scoring at close to 4.5 runs an over. Captain Kohli did not last long post the lunch break and Jadeja gave the innings further impetus.

Earlier, Kohli and Rishabh Pant (92 off 84) had taken India to 506 for five at lunch.

Kohli, who was 72 not out overnight, took time to knock off the 28 runs needed for yet another hundred while his partner Pant, who resumed at 17, went all guns blazing.

A second Test hundred in his fourth Test was for the taking but Pant, attempting another six over mid-wicket, failed to pick the googly and top-edged it for a simple catch to Keemo Paul at backward point. His entertaining innings was laced with eight fours and four sixes.

Kohli had the company of Jadeja when lunch was taken. India, aiming to bat only once in the game, scored 142 runs in 29 overs bowled in the morning session.

With Pant picking boundaries at will, Kohli was in no hurry get to the hundred and when he did get there, the India skipper became the second fastest to 24 Test hundreds behind only Donald Bradman, who took 66 innings to Kohli's 123.

Pant, who made memorable in his debut series in England, played his usual attacking game from ball one, flicking it nonchalantly through square leg to get going.

Kohli enjoyed his teammates' fluent strokeplay from the other end as Pant raced to his half century with a four and six off pacer Paul.

He used his strong wrists to get to the desired elevation and distance. It was a sheer display of brute power.

His eyes lit up when spinners were employed after first hour of the morning. He welcomed Roston Chase with a four and six and did the same to Devendra Bishoo in the following over.

Anything pitched up, he was quick to clear his one leg and deposit the ball over mid-wicket and long on.

The way Pant was plundering the bowlers, it seemed he would get to three figures before his skipper. But that did not happen as Kohli completed his century with a flick off his pads towards fine leg.

Pant was on 87 when Kohli raised his bat but the wicket-keeper batsmen ended up throwing it away as he went for another six over deep mid-wicket only to be holed out at point.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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Agencies
March 26,2020

Karachi, Mar 26: Pakistan's centrally-contracted cricketers will contribute Rs 5 million to the national government's emergency fund to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ehsan Mani on Wednesday said apart from centrally-contracted players contributing Rs 5 million, the employees in the board, up to the senior manager level, will contribute their one day's salary.

Those employed as general managers or on higher posts will give two days' salary to the fund.

"The PCB will collect all these funds and deposit it to the government's coronavirus fund," he said.

Pakistan has recorded more than 1,000 positive cases of the deadly virus, which has claimed more than 19,000 lives all over the world.

"It is the history of the cricket board that we always stand by the government in difficult times," Mani said.

The PCB has already given its high performances centre in Karachi at the national stadium to be used by paramedical staff working at the special coronavirus hospital set up at the expo centre in the in the city.

Mani said though cricket has been disrupted by the virus outbreak but it was far more important for the nation to stand by the government and also take all precautionary steps during the pandemic.

Pakistan's centrally-contracted players are entitled to monthly salaries ranging from Rs 5 to 12 lakh besides match fee and other earnings.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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