India beat Sri Lanka in the final ODI to take joint 2nd spot in rankings

August 5, 2012

india_sl_

There was little to suggest from India’s aggression and application that this was a dead rubber. They were given a scare alright by a new-look Sri Lanka, but they kept their wits about them to finish the One-Day International series in the manner in which they had begun it – with an exciting victory.

Their 20-run win in the final game of five at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium gave India a commanding and deserved 4-1 series victory, pulling them abreast of Australia on points at the top of the ICC ODI standings.

Sri Lanka’s two best batsmen were ruled out through injury, their most destructive limited-overs batsman was dismissed third ball, for a duck. Even so, they mounted a spirited run chase of a India’s massive 294 for 7, eventually being dismissed for 274 to go down all guns blazing.

Kumar Sangakkara was already out of the series with a broken finger, Mahela Jayawardene missed the final game with a sore back, and Tillakaratne Dilshan fell in just the second over. A young batting unit was put through a strong test, and it was a test it came through reasonably well, even if there was no icing on the cake in the shape of a victory.

Angelo Mathews couldn’t have asked for a better effort from his team in his first ODI as captain, if only on a stand-in basis. He reaffirmed his captaincy credentials by leading imaginatively in the afternoon, and saw Lahiru Thirimanne and Jeevan Mendis register their highest ODI scores respectively and give India a real scare through their 102-run sixth-wicket stand.

India, however, never panicked. Even with Thirimanne and Mendis blasting away against the quicker bowlers, they hung on in the belief that one wicket would bring another, and so it turned out. Irfan Pathan, who had helped Mahendra Singh Dhoni provide the Indian innings with the final thrust in the afternoon, was the star with 5 for 61, his second five-wicket haul, though R Ashwin too had an excellent outing, 0 for 37 from 9 overs on a day when the run rate hovered around the six mark.

India had whittled away at the Sri Lankan top-order, who all fell playing strokes. At 102 for 5, an early finish appeared imminent, but Thirimanne and Mendis entertained the crowd with commonsense batting that was, ironically, nipped by a needless mix-up. Thisara Perera then threw his bat around, but Pathan returned to clean up both Perera and Mendis in one over to all but signal the end.

India’s batting stint had been devoid of any great fluency or rhythm for the large part until Dhoni, with help from Pathan, cut loose towards the end. India, persisting with Rohit Sharma but bringing in Ajinkya Rahane, were well served by Gautam Gambhir’s sparkling strokeplay and Manoj Tiwary’s industrious, somewhat fortuitous half-century.

Gambhir had been the only batsman who had the measure of a pitch that afforded generous bounce to all-comers until Dhoni cut loose at the end. Fed a diet of legside half-volleys by Lasith Malinga, Gambhir whipped and flicked his way to a succession of early boundaries, unfazed either by Rahane’s cheap dismissal or Virat Kohli’s scratchy timing that was in stark contrast to the commanding form he has shown all series.

Nuwan Pradeep, express but erratic and quite a handful when he got it right, ended Kohli’s stint, then produced a good delivery to knock over Rohit. For a batsman so horribly out of sorts, Rohit would have been better advised playing straight; instead, attempting to work a Pradeep delivery pitched on off and middle to leg, he was beaten all ends up as the ball straightened to hit off-stump. It rounded off a miserable series that netted him just 13 runs in five innings.

Tiwary walked into a mini-crisis at 87 for 3, but stabilised the innings with Gambhir. The running was initially a little out of sync, but with time spent together, the understanding was better. Tiwary had his share of luck, too; on another day, he might have been adjudged caught behind when 46, then again on 56 but otherwise, he was quite enterprising, dominating the stand of 110 with Gambhir.

In the batting Power Play, India threatened to throw away the advantage in a strange passage of play when the runs kept coming but the wickets kept tumbling during a 12-ball burst that netted Sri Lanka 3 for 18. Malinga forced Tiwary to awkwardly fend off a bouncer to short third-man, then accounted for Suresh Raina first ball with another lifter.

Gambhir was done in by a knuckle ball from Sachithra Senanayake and India looked to be selling themselves short when Dhoni came to their rescue. Having averted the hat-trick, he was pinged on the helmet second ball by Malinga, but Dhoni exacted revenge with a brilliant counterattack. His cover-driving was of the highest order, but he also came up with delicate dabs to long-leg and characteristic brilliant running between the wickets alongside Pathan, during a stand of 77 in just 59 deliveries.



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News Network
March 2,2020

Madrid, Mar 2: Real Madrid won El Clasico and might have saved their season as they ended their slump in the best way possible last night by beating Barcelona 2-0 and returning to the top of La Liga.

Vinicius Junior's deflected finish and a stoppage-time goal from Mariano Diaz decided a frenzied contest at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Madrid found new life after a Champions League defeat by Manchester City had left them on the brink of crisis.

"It's been a tough week," said Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane. "We talked about how we had an opportunity this weekend and we took it."

Victory put them one point clear at the top of the table and shifts focus back to Quique Setien's Barcelona, who were outfought and, at times, outplayed.

"The reality is we lost a lot of confidence with the ball," said Setien. "We entered a nervous spell and that's when the goal came."

Lionel Messi's rasping shot was saved by Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the first half but it was the Argentine's opposing captain, Sergio Ramos, who was thrashing his arms in celebration after the final whistle.

His reaction was an indication of the importance of this victory, not only for the effect it has on the standings but on the dynamic of the title race, which had seemed to be switching firmly in favour of Barca.

Opportunity missed

Cristiano Ronaldo, now of Juventus, was watching from an executive box and Madrid could have done with him during a period in which they had won only one of their last five games.

Zidane said on Saturday this match would not decide who lifted the trophy in May but a Barca win and a five-point gap might well have been difficult to close.

Yet from the start Barcelona seemed keener to kill the game than win it, playing for time in the hope of keeping the contest tight, when they might have been better off attacking their opponents' fragility.

The Madrid we faced in the first half was one of the worst Madrids I have faced at the Bernabeu. I don't say it as a criticism, we also have our problems, but we've missed an opportunity.

--Gerard Pique, Barcelona defender

There was more tension than creativity in the early stages as Fede Valverde crashed into Arthur Melo before fellow Spain full-backs Dani Carvajal and Jordi Alba were both booked after a disagreement.

Madrid had the better of the play and regularly broke at speed through Vinicius down the left but constantly they failed to make the final pass, with Isco once left with his head in his hands after Marcelo opted not to pull the ball back.

Slow Barca

Barcelona's passing was slow and their lack of urgency obvious. At one point Messi bent to tie his bootlaces and re-spotted the ball before taking a corner.

But the visitors also created chances as Antoine Griezmann drove over from Alba's cutback and then Madrid had Courtois to thank for two excellent saves.

First, Arthur held off Toni Kroos to go clear but his finish was blocked by teh foot of Courtois and then the Belgian palmed away Messi's shot after he had skipped in behind Madrid's defence.

Ramos was lucky to get away with an error that allowed Nelson Semedo to break past him while Alba risked a second yellow when he checked Valverde but referee Mateu Lahoz was unmoved.

Barcelona were sloppy after half-time and Madrid should have capitalised. Instead, Isco's header beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen but not Pique on the line and Karim Benzema volleyed over after a sloppy pass from Arturo Vidal.

Vidal was replaced by Martin Braithwaite, Barca's emergency signing, and he sprinted in behind Marcelo twice in his first minute.

But Madrid remained in the ascendancy and in the 71st minute they took the lead.

Benzema came short and pointed right to encourage Vinicius to run in behind. Kroos found him and Vinicius's shot deflected off the sliding Pique to beat Ter Stegen at his near post.

The game opened up as Barcelona chased an equaliser. Marcelo celebrated when Messi's surge through was stopped by Raphael Varane. Pique headed Messi's cross over at the near post. Messi picked up a yellow card for a frustrated slide on Casemiro.

In injury time, Ter Stegen ventured up for a late free-kick but it was Madrid that struck again. Mariano sped past Semedo and finished from the angle.

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News Network
February 4,2020

Feb 4: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday said the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash has impacted his outlook towards life, which he feels, is sometimes taken for granted in pursuit of control over the future.

Bryant, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist and one of the most decorated basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter crash last month along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was also a budding hoopster.

"Firstly, it was a shock to everyone. I grew up watching those NBA games in the morning and watching what he did on court. But when someone that you have looked up to in some ways, passes away like that, it does put things in perspective," Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand here.

"...at the end of the day, life can be so fickle. It's so unpredictable. I think a lot of the times we get too caught up in the pressures of what we have to do tomorrow...we really forget living life and enjoying life and just appreciating and being grateful for the life we have," he added.

Kohli said a tragedy like this makes one realise that nothing can be more important than enjoying every moment of existence.

"...it did put things in perspective for me massively. It just makes you feel like not wanting to have control of things in front of you all the time, and just embracing life and appreciating it.

"You start looking at things from a different point of view suddenly and you want to enjoy every moment you're going through. You realise that what you're doing at the end of the day is not the most important thing. The most important thing is life itself," Kohli signed off.

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News Network
March 16,2020

Mar 16: With COVID-19 outbreak killing over 5,400 people globally, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at those responsible for making the coronavirus infect humans and blamed China solely for the outbreak.

"I don't understand why you have to eat things like bats, drink their blood and urine and spread some virus across the globe...I'm talking about the Chinese people. They have put the world at stake. I really don't understand how you can eat bats, dogs, and cats. I'm really angry," Akhtar said in a video posted on his Youtube channel.

"The whole world is at risk now. The tourism industry has been hit, the economy is badly affected and the whole world is going towards a lockdown.

"I'm not against the people of China but I'm against the law of animals. I understand this may be your culture but this is not benefitting you now, it is killing humanity. I'm not saying you boycott the Chinese but there has to be some law. You cannot go on and eat anything and everything," he added.

Coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,30,000 people.

In Pakistan, the number of positive cases reached 28 on Saturday.

Many sporting events, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL), have been affected by the disease which has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

While the IPL 2020, which was originally scheduled to start from March 29, has been postponed till April 15, the playoff stage of PSL has been curtailed and will be played behind closed doors.

"The biggest reason for anger is PSL...Cricket returned to Pakistan after so many years, the PSL was happening in our country for the first time now even that is at risk. The foreign players are leaving, it will take place behind closed doors," said Akhtar.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases across India has crossed 80 while two people have lost their lives due to the deadly disease. But Akhtar did not have the information and added: "God forbid the virus doesn't reach India. There are around 130 crore people there. I've been in touch with my friends in India and wishing them well."

In PSL, there will be no playoffs and the top four teams will now play semi-finals and then the final on March 17 and 18. The final was originally scheduled to be held on March 22.

"I've also heard that IPL has been postponed till April 15. The hotel industries, travel industries, broadcasters everything will incur losses because of this," he said.

The former Pakistan pacer also called on the world authorities to come out with a new animal protection law so that such diseases don't resurface in the future.

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