Kabaddi World Cup 2016: Rampant India batter England to book semi-final spot

October 19, 2016

Ahmedabad, Oct 19: India produced a scintillating performance to thrash England 69-18 in their last Group B encounter and seal their berth for the Kabaddi World Cup semi-finals at the TransStadia in Ahmedabad.

Kabaddi

Star raider Pardeep Narwal scored 13 points while Ajay Thakur scored 11 points as India made full use of their squad depth to notch a comfortable win and end their group campaign on a high.

The crowd at the TransStadia arena was in for a treat as the home team put on a spectacular show.

After suffering a shocking defeat in their opening match against South Korea, India bounced back in style and finished the group matches with a whopping score difference of 174.

England, on the other hand, can take a lot of heart from their performances as they finished fourth in Group B with 10 points.

On Tuesday, England made a bright start as captain Someshwar Kalia scored two points in the first minute to lead 2-1. Sandeep Narwal scored with a super raid in the third minute as India overtook the visitors 5-2.

Thakur scored with a two-point raid in the fifth minute as India extended the lead to 8-3 and reduced England to just two men.

India inflicted the first all out of the match in the sixth minute to lead 12-3. Narwal scored his first points in the seventh minute to give India 14-3 lead.

Keshav Gupta scored with a two-point read in the 10th minute as England trailed 5-17.

Sandeep Narwal was in great raiding form as he scored six points to help India inflict the second all out in the 13th minute and get a lead of 24-5.

England's defence let them down as they failed to score a single point in the first 15 minutes.

India inflicted another all out in the 16th minute to take a commanding 33-5 lead. Such was India's dominance that they went on a 20-0 run in eight minutes to lead 37-5 after 18 minutes.

Pardeep attained a super 10 in the first half whereas Surjeet got a high five as India inflicted the fourth all out in the 20th minute to lead 45-6 at the end of the first half.

Coming back, India brought on five substitutes in the second half, including Rahul Chaudhari, to make use of their squad.

Nitin Tomar scored two points in the 23rd minute as India led 49-7. England were still looking for their first tackle point and their star raider Tope Adewalure struggled to get raid points.

India went on to inflict another all out in the 28th minute to take their lead to 57-8 before England's Adewalure scored two raid points consecutively to become the first man to score 50 points in the ongoing World Cup.

With less than five minutes to go, and India leading 64-14, Rahul scored his third point of the match.

India cruised in the last few minutes as Thakur attained a super 10 in the 39th minute to give India a handsome 69-18 win.

Kenya record big win against USA to stay alive

Kenya kept their hopes alive of a semi-final berth after registering a thumping 74-19 win over the US in their last league tie of the Kabaddi World Cup. Desperately in need of a win, Kenya finally pressed the acceleration button to push Thailand out and occupy the second spot in Group B.

Top-placed Iran are already in the semi-finals while Kenya will have to wait for the Japan (fourth) vs Thailand (third) match on Wednesday to know their fate.

On Tuesday, Kenya exhibited great determination to outplay minnows US as they went into the break with a 38-8 lead. Three Kenyan defenders achieved a high five whereas captain David Mosambayi top-scored with 12 points.

On the other hand, the US defence could manage only five points as the newbies committed too many errors, to end their campaign without a win.

The US started with a 2-1 lead, scoring a raid and tackle point whereas David Mosambayi got a tackle point for Kenya in the first two minutes. But their joy was shortlived as Kenya's David Obilo scored two tackle points while Mosambayi added two raid points to take the lead to 5-4 after five minutes.

Kenya, immediately inflicted the first all out of the match in the seventh minute to lead 10-4. Kenya scored five more points in three minutes to lead 15-4 after 10 minutes. Mosambayi scored with a two-point raid as Kenya inflicted the second all out to lead 20-4 in the 12th minute.

In the next minute, Ben Marcelus helped the US add two more points as they trailed 6-21. Phelix Ospina then scored with a super raid in the 15th minute as Kenya took their lead to 26-6.

In response, the US suffered the third all out in the next minute as Kenya's lead soared to 31-7. Kenya went into the break with a 30-point lead after David Mosambayi attained a super 10 and contributed 10 points whereas Ospina scored seven.

Coming from the break, Kenya began with a bang and inflicted the fourth all out in the 22nd minute to take their lead to 42-8 before further taking it to 48-10 by the 25th minute. A minute later the US suffered another all out as Kenya took full advantage of the US' defensive errors.

Kenya continued on their dominant form to take the lead to 56-12 after 30 minutes. In the 33rd minute, Dillyon Banks came up with a super raid to take three points for Kenya. Kenya then forced two super tackles in quick succession to lead 64-18 after 35 minutes before forcing another all out in the last minute to take it to 74-19.

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Agencies
April 25,2020

London, Apr 25: Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson who was fighting cancer, has died at the age of 75.

Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he featured in five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The all-rounder earned the national call during the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa. Watson slammed a half-century in the first innings of the second Test of the series.

However, the medium-pace bowler was ruled of the next test after suffering an ankle injury. He returned for the fourth Test in Johannesburg where scalped his career-best 2 for 67 but failed to leave a mark with the bat as Kangaroos lost the series.

In 1971-72 he moved to Western Australia and played a major role in their Sheffield-Shield win in 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1974-75 seasons.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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News Network
April 27,2020

Mumbai, Apr 27: The pressure to replace iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps was "immense" due to high expectations from fans says K L Rahul, who has been doing the wicket-keeping duty for India in the limited overs format for some time now.

Dhoni quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India in the limited overs format since last year's ODI World Cup in England.

Rahul kept the wickets in the limited overs series against Australia in January this year and also during the team's tour to New Zealand.

"I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps," Rahul told Star Sports on its show 'Cricket Connected'.

Rahul, who has played 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is, said keeping the wickets is not alien to him since he dons the gloves during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also when he plays for his Ranji side Karnataka.

"People who follow cricket know that I haven't been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka," the 28-year-old said.

"I am always in touch with wicket-keeping but am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to," he stressed.

Dhoni's career is a matter of intense speculation. Many former players feel that it won't be easy for Dhoni to make it to the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia. 

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