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India get Olympic boost with Azlan Shah bronze

June 4, 2012
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India ended a three-match losing streak against Great Britain by beating them 3-1 at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament on Sunday to secure a bronze medal, which is exactly the kind of boost Michael Nobbs's men needed ahead of the Olympics in July-August.

India went into the match having lost to the Britons thrice - twice at the London Olympics test event and once in the league phase here. But the team showed no nerves whatsoever in a display of attacking hockey to exact a sweet revenge.

Shivendra Singh, Sandeep Singh and Tushar Khandker were on the score sheet for India, after Ashley Jackson had put his team ahead in the first half which ended at 1-0 in favour of Great Britain.

India started off with a dominating intent, with Shivendra getting two opportunities in the first 10 minutes to put his team ahead. But on both the occasions, the final touch eluded the star Indian striker. Continuous forays into the British circle resulted in a penalty corner for India, but Danish Mujtaba erred with his stop and the opportunity was wasted.

Shivendra and SK Uthappa came close to scoring past the 15-minute mark but were again left to rue a missed chance. Great Britain got their first penalty corner, against the run of play, in the last minute of the first half, which Jackson converted neatly to put his team in the lead.

Jackson almost scored again in the opening minutes of the second half but the shot was deflected wide by a rushing Indian defence.

India then started getting a few moves together that gave them an equaliser through Shivendra in the 43rd minute. Shivendra was the beneficiary of a pass from Uthappa, who made the goal possible with an amazing display of speed, skill and control. A second penalty corner came India's way in the 52nd minute that put them ahead, courtesy the conversion by Sandeep.

In a desperate move to find the equaliser, the Britishers took their goalkeeper off in the last three minutes and replaced him with another attacker up front. However, the move proved fatal as Sandeep's cheeky scoop in the 69th minute found an unmarked Khandker lurking in the circle, and he just had to tap the ball into the empty goal to make it 3-1.


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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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News Network
January 28,2020

Columbo, Jan 28: The Sri Lanka Cricket Board on Monday announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Women`s T20 World Cup, slated to commence from February 21. The board also announced five standby players for the ensuing tournament.

The squad members are -- Chamari Atapattu (captain), Harshitha Madavi (vice captain), Anushka Sanjeewani, Hansima Karunaratne, Shashikala Siriwardene, Nilakshi De Silva, Ama Kanchana, Kavisha Dilhari, Udeshika Probodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Hasini Perera, Sathya Sandeepani, Umesha Thimashini, Sugandika Kumari, Dilani Manodara.

The standby players are -- Sachini Nisansala, Prasadani Weerakkody, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Tharika Sewwandi, Inoka Ranaweera.

Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand in their opening encounter on February 22.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 2: India registered a rare 5-0 whitewash against New Zealand after notching up a seven-run win in the fifth and final T20 International at Bay Oval here on Sunday.

Electing to bat, India posted 163 for three, riding on Rohit Sharma's 60 off 41 balls and a 33-ball 45 from K L Rahul.

The visitors then restricted the hosts to 156 for nine with Jasprit Bumrah claiming three wickets for 12 runs.

Chasing the target, the Black Caps were tottering at 17 for three in 3.2 overs.

Tim Seifert (50) and Ross Taylor (53) then added 99 runs for the fourth wicket as New Zealand recovered to 116.

Seifert clobbered a 30-ball 50 studded with five fours and three sixes, while Ross Taylor hit two sixes and five fours in his 47-ball 53-run innings.

However, once Seifert was dismissed in the 13th over, the hosts suffered a collapse, losing five wickets, including Taylor, for 25 runs to loss the plot in the end.

Brief Score:

India: 163 for 3 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 60; S Kuggeleijn 2/25)    

New Zealand: 156 for 9 in 20 overs (Ross Taylor 53, Tim Seifert 50; Jasprit Bumrah 3/12).

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