Mumbai beat Delhi to lift Vijay Hazare Trophy for 3rd time

Agencies
October 21, 2018

Bengaluru, Oct 21: Aditya Tare struck a fluent half-century as a clinical Mumbai defeated Delhi by four wickets to win their third Vijay Hazare Trophy title at M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Saturday.

Mumbai last won the trophy way back in 2006-07 when they defeated Rajasthan. Opting to bowl after winning the toss, pacers, Shivam Dubey (3/29) and Dhawal Kulkarni (3/30) picked up three wickets apiece as Mumbai bowled out Delhi for a paltry 177 in 45.4 overs.

Later, Tare starred with the bat with an 89-ball 71 that included 13 boundaries and a six and in the company of crisis man Siddesh Lad (48) stitched 105 runs for the fifth wicket to seal the win for Mumbai with 15 overs to spare.

But Tare had his heart in his mouth in 19th over of the innings when he survived a caught behind decision. Repeated TV replays showed the ball had bounced before nestling into Delhi wicket-keeper Unmukt Chand’s gloves. Tare eventually fell prey to Manan Sharma, trapped plumb in front of the wicket in the 31st over but by then he had already taken Mumbai to sniffing distance of a win. Lad’s valiant 48 came off 68 deliveries with four boundaries and two sixes but he fell two short of his half century, caught by Dhruv Shorey off Lalit Yadav with Mumbai scoreboard reading 176 for six.

Lad also survived a run out appeal at the non-strikers end after the umpires could not come to a conclusive proof to suggest that the straight drive off Tare hit the boots of Subodh Bhati and ricocheted onto the stumps.

The benefit of doubt went in favour of the batsman.

Chasing 178, Mumbai lost in-form Prithvi Shaw for eight in third ball of the innings after he smashed two consecutive boundaries of Navdeep Saini.

Ajinkya Rahane (10), captain Shreyas Iyer (7) and Suryakumar Yadav (4) all departed cheaply to Saini and Kulwant Khejrolia, leaving Mumbai struggling at 40 for four in 7.4 overs.

Earlier, Delhi began their innings on a bad note with Mumbai pacers Kulkarni and Tushar Deshpande exploiting the moist conditions.

Deshpande (2/30), Dubey and Kulkarni picked up eight wickets between them to rattle Delhi’s batting line-up.

Captain Gautam Gambhir got out for one in second over off the innings. Soon Unmukt Chand (13) and Manan Sharma (5) also went cheaply. Delhi were reeling at 21 for three in six overs, but Nitish Rana (13) and Dhruv Shorey (31) tried to stabilise the innings for a brief period before the former was removed by Dubey, leaving Delhi precariously placed at 60 for four.

Shorey too did not last long as he was stumped by Tare off a brilliant Shams Mulani’s delivery. Thereafter, Pawan Negi (21), Subodh Bhati (25) and Himmat Singh (41) scored vital runs to take Delhi to 177.

But once Negi walked back to the pavilion retired hurt, Mumbai ran through Delhi’s tail in quick time.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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July 19,2020

Manchester, Jul 19: Former England pacer Dominic Cork reckons star all-rounder Ben Stokes will go on to become one of his country's greatest cricketers ever.

Stokes, the hero of England's World Cup triumph last year, sparkled with a fine 176 and powered his side to a strong first-inning total of 469/9 declared in the ongoing second Test against the West Indies here.

"I genuinely think he can get better because of his work ethic. He wants to bat, he wants to bowl, he wants to work on his game, wants to get better," Cork said on Sky Sports show The Cricket Debate.

"I know he works a hell of a lot on his bowling as well. I just see this man not becoming only the best in the world but one of the best we have had ever. That's how highly I rate him."

The former seamer thought things changed for better for the World Cup hero after the Bristol bar brawl three years ago.

Last year, Stokes himself had said that the unsavoury incident and the ensuing chain of events, which dogged his career for 15 months, may be the best thing that could have happened to him.

Following the incident in September 2017, Stokes was acquitted of affray by a Bristol court in August 2018, before the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) ended his 15-month exile after a hearing in December 2018.

Former England batsman Ravi Bopara also spoke about the remarkable change in Stokes' approach.

"I think there has definitely been a change with Ben. He has made his mistakes and learnt from them. He looks a formidable cricketer," he said.

"He is a fiery character and always has been - even if you are playing PlayStation in hotel rooms.

"But as he has had a more important role in the side as an all-rounder, making an impact with bat and ball, winning games for England, and since England have started looking at him as the main guy, his attitude has changed with it."

West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0 after their win in the opener at Southamton.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Apr 13: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir says if IPL is not played this year, it will be difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.

Since then he hasn't played any competitive cricket and legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have already said that it's getting increasingly difficult for the Jharkhand dasher to make an international return after such a prolonged sabbatical.

He was expected to be seen in action at this year's IPL but the chances of T20 league being played are remote due to the COVID-19.

"If the IPL does not happen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback. On what basis can he (Dhoni) be selected since he’s not been playing for the last one or one and a half year," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

The 38-year-old Gambhir picked KL Rahul, who has been keeping in ODIs, as an "apt replacement" for Dhoni.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

"Obviously his (Rahul's) keeping is not as good as Dhoni’s, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul's a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4. If the IPL does not happen, then Dhoni’s chances for a comeback look dim.

"Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team," added Gambhir.

The southpaw also felt that retirement was Dhoni's personal decision.

"As far as his retirement plans go by, that's his personal choice," said Gambhir.

However, his former teammate and test specialist VVS Laxman feels that Dhoni can continue playing IPL.

"Not only this IPL, he (Dhoni) will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer," Laxman said on the same show.

However, Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests, said that the new selection committee, chaired by former spinner Sunil Joshi, will have to discuss Dhoni's future with him.

"Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned, I'm sure he must have communicated that with (captain) Virat Kohli, (coach) Ravi Shastri immediately after the 2019 World Cup in England," said Laxman.

"The new selection committee will have to sit down with MS Dhoni and understand his future, as far as Indian cricket is concerned. But MS Dhoni will continue to play for CSK and do well for CSK," said Laxman, who amassed 8,781 Test runs.

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