Karnataka clinch eighth Ranji Trophy title

March 13, 2015

Mumbai, Mar 13: Defending champions Karnataka clinched their eighth Ranji Trophy title as they thrashed their southern opponents Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs on the last day of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament final at the Wankhede stadium on Thursday.

The R Vinay Kumar-led side always had the upper hand in the five-day encounter after bundling out Tamil Nadu for 134 in the first innings and then amassing 762 runs courtesy a triple century by middle-order batsman Karun Nair (338).

Ranji Trophy titleChasing an imposing 628, Tamil Nadu were shot out for 411 in 107.5 overs in the final session of the fifth day's play.

Starting the day on 113 for three, Tamil Nadu saw resilient centuries from Vijay Shankar (103) and Dinesh Karthik (120) but the writing was on the wall after their departure.

Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal (4-126) wrecked the Tamil Nadu batting order with his four scalps. Skipper R Vinay Kumar, who became the joint leading wicket taker this season, ended with two wickets, along with Sreenath Aravind.

But the real hero for Karnataka was the 23-year-old Nair, who deservedly got the man-of the-match award for his maiden triple ton in first-class cricket.

The innings also saw centuries from Lokesh Rahul (188) and R Vinay Kumar (105 not out) as Karnataka did enough to bat just once.

For Tamil Nadu, wicketkeeper-batsman Karthik notched up his 23rd first class century and his 112-ball knock laced with 21 fours and a six, while Shankar made a fluent 103 (164b, 18x4).

Earlier, overnight batsman Baba Aparajith (68) and Vijay Shankar looked poised for a big score, as they batted sensibly. Tamil Nadu however lost Aparajith in the 21st over of the day thanks to a brilliant catch from wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa behind the stumps to get rid of him.

The 20-year old added 32 runs to his overnight score of 36 and his 227 minutes at the crease produced 11 fours. He forged a 112-run stand with Vijay Shankar for the fourth wicket.

His departure brought Karthik to the crease, who set an aggressive tone to the Tamil Nadu innings only witness a sorry end to a brave campaign.

Karthik, who hadn't scored a single run in the first 20 balls he faced, unleashed a flurry of boundaries.

The 29-year old had just three singles to his credit when he notched up his half-century. His run-a-ball 53 comprised 11 fours and a six.

The seasoned cricketer, who missed out in the first innings due to a poor umpiring decision, struck three boundaries in the 68th over off Sharath.

Shankar, despite playing the second fiddle, struck a few shots of his own to usher his century.

The 24-year old who had shared a century stand with Aparajith for the fourth wicket, combined with Karthik to add 115 runs for the fifth wicket.

With Tamil Nadu proceeding, well, Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar took the new ball in the 81st over which provided the much-needed breakthrough for the holders.

Shankar miscued a pull shot and Vinay Kumar pouched the ball off his own bowling.

R Prasanna (8) too didn't last much as he was caught at second slip off H S Sharath in the 88th over.

Tamil Nadu were 378/6 at tea, trailing behind Karnataka's first innings lead of 628 by 250 runs.

They lost Karthik in the first ball off the second over after the tea, diminishing the hopes of avoiding an innings defeat.

Karthik, who had escaped a caught behind due to a no-ball from Sreenath Aravind in the 91st over, played an inside-out shot and was caught at deep cover by Aravind off Gopal.

Aswin Crist was stumped off Gopal two overs later, with Tamil Nadu reeling at 379/8. Malolan Rangarajan hung around sometime playing a couple of strokes to delay the inevitable but was caught at slips off Aravind. His 77-ball 33 yielded six fours.

Prasanth Parameswaran, who was injured on the third day while fielding, did not come into bat.

Karnataka got a cash prize of Rs 2 crore while the runners-up Tamil Nadu received a cash prize of Rs 1 crore.

Brief scores:

Tamil Nadu 134 and 411/9 (Dinesh Karthik 120, Vijay Shankar 103, Aparajith 68; Shreyas Gopal 4-126, Vinay Kumar 2-43, Sreentah Aravind 2-52)

Karnataka (1st innings) 762 all out (Karun Nair 328, Lokesh Rahul 188, Vinay Kumar 105 not out; Laxmipathy Balaji 3-120, Malolan Rangarajan 3-183).

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News Network
April 12,2020

New Delhi, Apr 12: As devotees across the world celebrate Easter today, former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday condoled the demise of people who lost their lives during last year's Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka and said someone must seek answers to the questions which still remain unresolved.

"A year on we all share the pain of the families grieving lives lost, we stand with you and for you. We remember. So many questions still unanswered, but answer them someone must," Sangakkara tweeted.

On April 21, 2019, multiple blasts ripped through Sri Lanka when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday.
The explosions rattled churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing 258 people and injuring over 500.

A local terror group called National Thowheeth Jama'ath had claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks.

The island nation was put under a state of emergency for a period of four months from April to August.

The Sri Lankan police had then said that 293 suspects were arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in the island country in April.

This year, most of the devotees would be offering the prayers from their homes as mass gatherings have been suspended in most countries due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion on Good Friday. It also marks the culmination of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and penance.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: India captain Virat Kohli has refrained from making any comments on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), without gaining full knowledge on the sensitive subject.

The CAA will grant Indian nationality to people belonging to minority communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12, even if they don't possess any proper document.

In 2016, Kohli had termed demonetisation as the "greatest move in history of Indian politics", which met with sharp criticism from a lot of quarters, with people questioning his knowledge on the subject.

With Guwahati witnessing massive protests against the CAA till some days back, Kohli was asked about it and the Indian skipper weighed his words carefully.

"On the issue, I do not want to be irresponsible and speak on something that has, you know, radical opinions both sides. I need to have total information, total knowledge of what it means and what is going on and then be responsible to give my opinion on it," Kohli said ahead of India's first T20 International against Sri Lanka.

The skipper made it clear that he will not like to get embroiled in a controversy by commenting on a subject that he is not well aware of.

"Because you can say one thing and then someone can say another thing. So, I would not like to get involved in something that I don't have total knowledge of and it's not going to be responsible on my part to comment on it." However Kohli on his part was happy with the security arrangements and felt that the city is "absolutely safe".

"The city is absolutely safe. We didn't see any problems on the roads," Kohli said, giving his thumbs-up for the match at the Barsapara Stadium.

The Assam Cricket Association is using this match as a "curtain-raiser" ahead of their maiden IPL match this season as Rajasthan Royals have adopted this venue.

There has been deployment of Rapid Action Force for the teams and ACA secretary Devajit Saikia has said the spectators will not even be allowed to bring along handkerchiefs and towels on the match-day as the traditional Assamese scarf was used for protests against CAA.

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