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Nadal crushes Del Potro to reach U.S. Open final

Agencies
September 9, 2017

New York, Sep 9: It took eight years but Rafa Nadal gained his revenge, ending Juan Martin del Potro's hopes of another dream run to the U.S. Open final with a shockingly ruthless semi-final victory on Friday.

The 4-6 6-0 6-3 6-2 thrashing also moved the Spaniard to the brink of a 16th grand slam title.

In 2009 it was Del Potro who dismissed the Spaniard in straight sets to reach the Flushing Meadows final where he defeated Roger Federer to claim his one and only major.

With another inspiring march picking up steam with a fourth round win over sixth seed Dominic Thiem and a quarter-final upset of Federer, Nadal derailed the Del Potro train turning his dream into a nightmare.

"Today was the day to play well," said Nadal, a twice U.S. Open champion. "I was playing so-so at the beginning of the tournament, and I have been playing better and better every day.

"Today was the day to play the best match of the tournament since that moment, because I (was) going to play against the toughest opponent in that moment, and that opponent, as I said before, coming with big confidence.

"I wake up today and say to myself, 'Today is the day that I'll play'. I need to play with the right energy, and I need to increase the level of my game."

Nadal did not get off to the brightest of starts, dropping the opening set as he struggled to handle the towering Argentine's serve and huge forehand.

But in the second, the world number one seemed to flick a switch and ignite the after burners. Clearly the fresher of the two players after two speedy straight set wins, Nadal used it to his full advantage.

After a draining epic five-setter against Thiem and no less taxing four set quarter-finals win over Roger Federer, Del Potro simply seemed to run out of gas.

Nadal did not hesitate to inflict pain and punishment, rampaging through the rest of the match by winning 18 of 23 games, including nine straight ones to sweep the second set and a 3-0 lead in the third. "Important day for me. Important victory against a great opponent," beamed Nadal. "He came to that match with confidence after beating Roger (Federer), Dominic (Thiem) too.

"A lot of the matches he played this tournament have been a tough one. But at the same time, I think I played a solid match.

"After the first set, I changed it a little bit, changed my tactic, strategy a little bit. And that makes the difference."

After taking down the 6-foot, 6-inch (198cm) Del Potro, Nadal will face another tall order in Sunday's final where he will face 6-foot 8-inch (203cm) South African Kevin Anderson.

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News Network
April 14,2020

Melbourne, Apr 14: As all sporting action across the world has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australian bowlers are pondering as to how Indian skipper Virat Kohli might play in front of no spectators.

India and Australia are scheduled to play a four-match Test series later this year, and it is being speculated that the series might end up taking place without any crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon on Tuesday said that it would be interesting to see how Kohli goes about it if he does not get a chance to get the audience behind him.

"He is probably good enough to adapt to any scenario. But I was talking to Mitch Starc the other day and we actually said that if we are playing with no crowd, it'll be quite amazing to see Virat trying to rev up the empty seats," cricket.com.au quoted Lyon as saying.

"It is going to be a little bit different, but Virat is a superstar. He will be able to adapt to any climate that we are able to play in," he added.
During the 2018-19 series, India managed to defeat Australia in Australia for the first time in a Test series.

Australia, at that time were without the services of David Warner and Steve Smith. However, the series later this year promises to be a mouth-watering prospect.

"I am excited about the prospect of India coming out to Australia, it's up there with the biggest series alongside the Ashes. They are an absolute powerhouse of the cricket world, and to have those guys out here is going to be fantastic. Playing in front of crowds or no crowds is out of our control, we have got to follow the advice of all the amazing medical people around the world," Lyon said.

"I have not thought about no crowds or massive crowds, it is just about the opportunity of playing against India again. They had the wood over us last time they came over here but we are a much stronger Australian cricket side at the moment, and I am just unbelievably excited about playing them here at home," he added.

Lyon was slated to represent Hampshire in County Championship this year, however, his stint was called off last week due to COVID-19.
He is Australia's third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game as he has total of 390 wickets in Test cricket.

Lyon was last seen in action in the Big Bash League for Sydney Sixers.

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Agencies
March 15,2020

Chennai, Mar 15: Wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni has left the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) training camp following the postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) amidst the coronavirus scare.

The former India skipper had joined the CSK's camp earlier this month in order to practice for the upcoming IPL season.

CSK's official handle tweeted a video of Dhoni and captioned the post as: "It has become your home sir!" Keep whistling, as #Thala Dhoni bids a short adieu to #AnbuDen".

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the tournament.

Earlier this year, Dhoni did not find a place for himself in the BCCI's centrally contracted players list.

BCCI had released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

On Friday, BCCI decided to postpone the IPL until April 15 as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, all the IPL franchises met in Mumbai to discuss as to how to go on with the tournament in the future.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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