Euro 2012: Super sub Walcott gives England narrow win

June 16, 2012

Walcott

Kiev: England survived a 10-minute meltdown to move closer to the Euro 2012 quarterfinals when substitute Theo Walcott scored one goal and set up another to earn a thrilling 3-2 win over Sweden who were eliminated from the tournament on Friday.

Walcott levelled in the 64th minute with a fierce shot and he delivered a fine cross to Danny Welbeck 12 minutes from time for the striker to tuck the ball in with a clever backheel and clinch England's first competitive victory over the Swedes.

England striker Andy Carroll had opened the scoring with a super header midway through the first half but Sweden struck back thanks to a Glen Johnson own goal and Olof Mellberg's header.

England are joint top of Group D on four points with France who beat Ukraine 2-0 earlier on Friday.

Ukraine, who play England in the last round of matches on Tuesday, are third on three points and Sweden have none.

Coach Roy Hodgson had brought in Carroll at the expense of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to exploit Sweden's weakness in the air and the choice paid off spectacularly midway through the first half.

Steven Gerrard whisked in a perfect cross for Carroll to head powerfully home from near the penalty spot and give England a deserved advantage.

It spurred Sweden into action but England initially remained composed.

That calmness vanished, however, early in the second half when the unmarked Mellberg bundled the ball in after the English defence had failed to clear an Ibrahimovic attempt in the 49th minute.

Johnson tried to clear on his line but only could help the ball into the net.

England were on the ropes and Mellberg delivered another body blow 10 minutes later when found himself unmarked to head in Sebastian Larsson's free kick from close range.

Defenders Joleon Lescott and John Terry were nowhere to be seen and Joe Hart was left stranded on his line.

Sweden's Andreas Isaksson looked much more alert when he denied Terry with a quick reaction save and Walcott replaced the ineffective James Milner in the 61St minute to make an immediate impact.

Sweden failed to clear a corner and the winger's fierce shot swerved high into the net past a static Isaksson.

Walcott then broke clear down the right flank to set up Welbeck who neatly diverted the ball into the far corner with his back to goal and England hung on without undue alarm to take the three points.



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News Network
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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News Network
May 6,2020

May 6: They have similar impact on their teams but Virat Kohli is driven by sheer passion to subdue the rivals while Steve Smith just enjoys batting, says Australia opener David Warner.

India skipper Kohli and top Australian batsman Smith are arguably the top two cricketers of the current era. They achieve new milestones consistently, invoking debates, who is better between them.

"Virat's passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve's would be," Warner said while speaking to Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that's how he sees things. He's hitting them out in the middle, he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, just does not want to get out."

Warner feels, while Kohli is batting he is aware that if he sticks around the middle his team will be on top of the proceedings.

"Virat obviously doesn't want to get out but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he's going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He's going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you've got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well."

The Australian opener added that both men are mentally strong and a good knock by them boosts the morale of the entire team.

"When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs. They both love spending time in the middle.

"They stabilise, they boost morale - if they score runs, everyone else's moral is up. If they are out cheaply you almost sense that on the field that everyone is (down on morale and thinking) 'now we all have to step up'. It's a very bizarre situation," he added.

Asked about the similarities between himself and Kohli, who are both live wires on the field, Warner said the passion to do better than the opponent keeps him going.

"I can't speak for Virat, obviously, but it's almost like we got this thing in us when we go (out to the middle) we need to prove people wrong, prove someone wrong."

"If you're in that contest, and if I'm going at him for example, you're thinking, 'Alright, I'm going to score more runs than him, I'm going to take a quick single on him'. You are trying to better that person in that game. That's where the passion comes from."

Warner also explained how he breaks down a match into smaller competitions.

"Obviously you want to win the game but you almost break it down to: If I can score more runs than Virat, or if Pujara scores more runs than Steve Smith, you have these little contests and that's how you try to narrow the game in the sense that if we do these little things, we can be ahead of the game or we can be behind the game.

"The passion is driven by...I know my sense - one, the will to win and two, wanting to do better than that person in the opposition," said Warner.

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