Kuldeep Yadav's six-wicket haul sets up India win

Agencies
July 13, 2018

Nottingham, Jul 13: Kuldeep Yadav took six wickets as India overpowered England in the first one-day international at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

The left-arm wrist-spinner returned career-best ODI figures of six for 25 as England were dismissed for a mere 268 after India captain Virat Kohli sent them in to bat.

Rohit Sharma, to the delight of the many India fans in a sun-drenched capacity crowd of over 17,000, then made an unbeaten century as the tourists won by eight wickets with a mammoth 59 balls to spare.

Sharma was 137 not out, after putting on 167 for the second wicket with Kohli (75) as India went 1-0 up in a three-match series.

It was all a far cry from the June 19 ODI at Trent Bridge where England compiled a men's ODI record total of 481 for six in a 242-run win over Australia during a 5-0 series rout of their arch-rivals.

After Kuldeep had dismissed England's top three during a burst of three wickets for five runs in 10 balls, Ben Stokes (50) and Jos Buttler (53) shared a fifth-wicket stand of 93.

But neither could break the shackles and both fell to Kuldeep, who was just the third overseas spinner to take five wickets in an ODI in England after Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan (five for 34 at Lord's in 1998) and India's Suraj Randiv (five for 42 at Old Trafford in 2011).

"It's a big day for me," Kuldeep, whose return was also the best by any spinner against England in ODI cricket, told Sky Sports.

"I started pretty well in the first two overs and luckily I got a couple (of wickets), which really changed the momentum for us."

Meanwhile Kohli accepted there was a chance both Kuldeep and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal could force their way into India's squad for the five-Test campaign in England that follows this series.

"He is making a strong start for himself, as his Chahal; both of them are pretty lethal for us and looking at the English batsmen struggling against them we might be tempted to do that," said Kohli.

Having struggled against Kuldeep in a preceding 2-1 Twenty20 loss, England captain Eoin Morgan said his side had to improve their playing of spin ahead of Saturday's second ODI at Lord's.

"Full credit to India -- they completely outplayed us," said Morgan. "Kuldeep had a pretty good day at the office. Playing spin against India is a challenge we will hopefully improve on but today we were off the mark."

England, in the absence of the injured Alex Hales, saw openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow put on a brisk 73.

But the introduction of Kuldeep for the 11th over changed the course of the match and it took him just two balls to strike.

Roy (38), attempting an ambitious reverse sweep, gave a dolly catch to Umesh Yadav.

Test captain Joe Root, in the team after being left out of the side that lost the third T20, then played back to Kuldeep and was plumb lbw for three.

Bairstow, who would have been lbw for a duck in the first over had India reviewed an lbw appeal from Umesh, made an attractive 38 before he was lbw to Kuldeep -- on review.

Morgan (19) then carelessly chipped Chahal to midwicket.

Stokes and Buttler staunched the flow of wickets, with Buttler first to his fifty, off 45 balls.

But with England hoping he would cut loose, Buttler's glance off Kuldeep was well caught down the legside by wicket-keeper MS Dhoni.

The normally hard-hitting Stokes then completed a fifty off a sedate 102 balls, including just two fours.

But one ball after reaching his fifty, the left-hander tried to reverse sweep Kuldeep only for debutant Siddarth Kaul to hold an excellent catch.

Kuldeep, who did not concede a boundary in his maximum 10 overs, struck again with his final delivery when David Willey holed out to KL Rahul.

Sharma, dropped on 92 by a diving Roy at backward point off fast bowler Liam Plunkett, completed an 82-ball hundred -- his 18th at this level -- when he drove Rashid for six.

Kohli, surprisingly, didn't reach three figures too and was instead stumped by Buttler off Rashid.

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News Network
July 9,2020

Tokorozawa, Jul 9: Olympic boxing hopeful Arisa Tsubata is used to taking blows in the ring but it is during her work as a nurse that she faces her toughest opponent: coronavirus.

The 27-year-old juggles a brutal training regime in boxing gloves with long, irregular hours in surgical gloves at a hospital near Tokyo.

Tsubata mainly treats cancer patients but she said the virus was a constant threat, with medical experts warning at the peak of the pandemic that Japan's health system was close to collapse.

"We always face the risk of infection at medical facilities," she said.

"My colleagues and I have all worked under the stress of possibly getting infected."

Like most elite athletes, the virus played havoc with Tsubata's training schedules, meaning she welcomed the postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics until 2021.

"It was a plus for me, giving me more time for training, although I wasn't sure if I should be so happy because the reason for the postponement was the spread of the infectious disease," she said.

Tsubata took up boxing only two years ago as a way to lose weight but quickly rose through the ranks.

"In a few years after becoming a nurse, I gained more than 10 kilos (22 pounds)," she laughed.

"I planned to go to Hawaii with my friends one summer, and I thought I wouldn't have much fun in a body like that. That is how I started boxing."

She quickly discovered a knack for the ring, winning the Japan national championship and a place on the national team.

But juggling her medical and sporting career has not always been easy and the first time she fought a foreign boxer came only in January, at an intensive training camp in Kazakhstan.

"That made me realise how inexperienced I am in my short boxing career. I was scared," she admitted.

Japanese boxing authorities decided she was not experienced enough to send her to the final qualifying tournament in Paris, which would have shattered her Tokyo 2020 dreams -- if coronavirus had not given her an extra year.

Now she is determined to gain the experience needed to qualify for the rescheduled Games, which will open on July 23, 2021.

"I want to train much more and convince the federation that I could fight in the final qualifiers," she said.

Her coach Masataka Kuroki told AFP she is a subtle boxer and a quick learner, as he put her through her paces at a training session.

She now needs to add more defensive technique and better core strength to her fighting spirit and attacking flair, said Kuroki.

"Defence! She needs more technique for defence. She needs to have a more agile, stronger lower body to fend off punches from below," he said.

Her father Joji raised Arisa and her three siblings single-handedly after separating from his Tahitian wife and encouraged his daughter into nursing to learn life-long skills.

He never expected his daughter to be fighting for a place in the Olympics but proudly keeps all her clippings from media coverage.

"She tried not to see us family directly after the coronavirus broke out," the 58-year-old told AFP. "She was worried."

Tsubata now want to compete in the Games for all her colleagues who have supported her and the patients that have cheered her on in her Olympic ambitions.

"I want to be the sort of boxer who keeps coming back no matter how many punches I take," she said.

"I want to show the people who cheer for me that I can work hard and compete in the Olympics, because of them."

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News Network
January 3,2020

Jeddah, Jan 3: Spanish driver Fernando Alonso is aiming to create history as the first Formula One world champion to win the Dakar Rally when the 12-day marathon gets underway in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Alonso, who won the F1 championship with Renault in 2005 and 2006, is one of 351 starters in this year's 7,500 km race which has moved from South America to Saudi Arabia, both venues a long way from the original 1979 route between Paris and the Senegalese capital Dakar.

Among the starters will be motorbikes, quad bikes and trucks but Alonso, who will have five-time bike champion Marc Coma navigating his Toyota, will be in the car category as he bids to become one of the greatest all-round drivers of all time.

Apart from his success in F1, the 38-year-old Spaniard has also won the Le Mans 24-hour race and has singled out the Indianapolis 500 as his priority for 2020. He describes Dakar as “the biggest challenge of my career”.

Alonso is not the first F1 driver to take part in the race, however.

The Belgian Jacky Ickx, a winner of eight grand prix and six-time winner of Le Mans, won Dakar in 1983 and came second in 1986 and 1989. Frenchman Patrick Tambay, who had two wins in his 114 grand prix, came third in 1988 and 1989.

Given the treacherous conditions--long stretches of sand dunes--Alonso is not overly confident of challenging for victory, noting that even the nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb was unable to deliver when he raced the Dakar. Loeb won 13 stages but could only finish second in 2017 and third in 2019.

“If Loeb still hasn't won the Dakar, imagine me, who is coming from asphalt,” Alonso told RTVE. “I think the goal is more to approach the rally as an enriching experience for us.”

Fellow Toyota driver Nasser Al-Attiyah is a more likely candidate, not least because the Qatari is a three-time winner and reigning champion.

"Give me some sand and I'm happy," Al-Attiyah told dakar.com.

He will be pressed, however, by the Minis of Carlos Sainz and 'Monsieur Dakar' aka Stephane Peterhansel who has won 13 Dakars across bikes and cars in 30 races.

“We are obviously very excited about the Dakar in Saudi Arabia. It will be a new challenge for everyone,” said Peterhansel who will be partnered by Paulo Fiuza after the Frenchman's wife Andrea pulled out for health reasons.

“Unfortunately, it is not possible to contest the rally with Andrea, as was planned, however I have known Paulo Fiuza for a very long time. According to the organisers, the navigation will be very complicated and play a major role this time.”

Cyril Despres, a five-time winner on bikes, is also back with a new teammate -- explorer Mike Horn.

“I was stuck in the ice for a month, and now I'm heading to Jeddah. For the first time, the Dakar Rally is in Saudi Arabia and I'm doing it with a very good friend of mine, Cyril Despres,” tweeted Horn whose adventures include an 18-month solo journey around the equator without using any motorised transport.

Horn is also the first man to travel without dogs or transport to the North Pole during winter, in permanent darkness.

Across the dunes of Saudi Arabia that experience may come in handy.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Mumbai, Jun 6: Reminiscing about his 'special knock' of 208 runs from 153 balls, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma revealed why his wife Ritika had got emotional after he smashed his third double century in ODIs.

Rohit narrated the incident during his appearance in Episode 2 of the 'Open nets with Mayank'.

The batsman, who was accompanied by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank on the show, said his wife thought that he had twisted his hand while diving for the 196th run during the innings.

"As you can see my wife got emotional there, this day was special as it was my anniversary. Probably the best gift I could give it to her while I am on the field, it was quite emotional though," said Rohit during the candid chat.

"When I came from the ground, I just asked her why did you (Ritika) cry? So she told me that she thought I (Rohit) twisted my hand when I dived for my 196th run and that was a little worrying factor for her, she got little emotional of because of that I guess," Rohit added.

In the match, the 32-year-old scored 208 runs with 13 fours and 12 sixes against Sri Lanka at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

This enabled India to post a score of 392/4 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then went on to win the match by 141 runs.

"To be honest I was going pretty slow, I never thought I will get to a double hundred but once you cross 125, I feel it gets easier for you because bowlers are under pressure. Unless you make a mistake I don't think you can get out," said Rohit.

Rohit has scored two double hundreds against Sri Lanka and one against Australia in ODIs. The right-handed batsman is the only cricketer to make three double hundreds in ODI history.

Rohit, Shikhar, and Mayank would have been in action for Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kings XI Punjab respectively, had the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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