Karthik blames dropped chances for T20 loss against Windies

Agencies
July 10, 2017

Kingston, Jul 10: India's top-scorer Dinesh Karthik rued the dropped catches that proved decisive in his team's nine-wicket loss to the West Indies in a one-off Twenty20 match, acknowledging a chance that he himself spilt.

In the sixth over, Lewis went for a lofted straight drive off Bhuvneshwar Kumar but a mix-up between skipper Virat Kohli and Mohammad Shami saw the opportunity go waste.

Four balls later, Lewis gave another chance when he heaved at a Kuldeep Yadav delivery but got a reprieve when an onrushing Karthik, at long-off, couldn't get into the position.

"If mis-hits go for sixes then you know it is his day but he gave us two chances, we couldn't hold on to them. Those were costly opportunities and in T20 games every opportunity would cost you a lot. We could see the result went their way mostly because of dropped chances," Karthik said at the post- match press conference.

Explaining why he couldn't hold on to the catch, Karthik said: "I am pretty confident of taking high catches in fielding. It is just that I came running in and the breeze took it away slightly more than I thought and from the corner of my eyes I saw Virat running in as well.

"I didn't want to bump into him and that took a fraction of a second for me which made me run more than I should and that kind of didn't get me in a good position and that's is the reason I dropped the catch," he said.

India posted 190-6 on a belter but opener Lewis slammed an unbeaten 125 off 62 balls to take West Indies home in just 18.3 overs.

Karthik, who top-scored for his team with a 29-ball 48, said 190 was a good score but it was not India's day as Lewis seemed unstoppable.

"All said and done, 190 is a good score. On any given day most teams will take 190. But the way the guy played, he hit more sixes than fours. It doesn't happen too many times that you end up hitting twice the number of sixes than boundaries," he said.

"It goes to show he was hitting the ball really well. He was targetting areas that we were confident about. A lot of good balls, he was hitting for boundaries, so it is not easy to bowl. It was one of those days when not much was done by us as a bowling unit but those kind of days happens in T20," he added.

Not a regular in the playing XI, the 32-year-old from Tamil Nadu said he is just trying to score as many runs as possible when he gets an opportunity.

"Given the opportunities are given to me, I am trying to do my best. It is a highly competitive team, we have got to put our best foot forward and keep performing and I am trying to do that consistently. My aim is to pile on the runs whenever I get an opportunity, that's what I am trying to focus on," he said.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya couldn't feature in the T20 match after suffering an injury during the warm-up and Karthik said he was missed by the team.

"Players like Hardik Pandya will always be missed because he is a power player, he can hit the big ball and at the same time, he has the knack of picking up wickets as well. Obviously, it is not great to miss him but freak injuries do happen. These kind of things are not controllable," he said.

Karthik said overall, the team has done well this year.

"Credit to us as well. We are coming from a big tournament in Champions Trophy and come back and put same intensity and performance through the West Indies tour has been good.

"Overall, it has been a good year for most players and a great opportunity for all to learn and I'm sure we will keep going forward," he said.

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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News Network
February 16,2020

Feb 16: Mayank Agarwal finally found some form going his way and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India's warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw in Hamilton on Sunday. The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings. Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name. To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell.

There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper. While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions.

He didn't curb his aggression though; there were times when he was ready defend against the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries that the Kiwi pacers bowled.

Even though Pant is easily the better batsman compared to his senior Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the second innings is Agarwal's poor run coming to an end.

The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal's footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn't cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings.

He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match. Once he had got his form back, he didn't come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action. In the morning, Prithvi Shaw (39 off 31 balls) was bowled through the gate by Daryl Mitchell as the batsman left a gaping hole between his bat and pad.

Shaw, though, seemed to have done enough during his brisk 72-run stand with Agarwal, which could put an end to the debate around the opening slot even though the tracks in Wellington and Christchurch could be a test of technique for the flamboyant Mumbaikar.

It was a match that Shubman Gill would perhaps like to forget in a hurry as he was dismissed cheaply for the second time in a row. He scored 8 before Daryl Mitchell trapped him leg before.

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