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

August 5, 2012

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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
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: Thrilled after getting to know about Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic's engagement, skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday called it a "pleasant surprise".

Extending his best wishes to the newly-engaged couple, Kohli posted a comment on Pandya's Instagram post which read, "Congratulations H. What a pleasant surprise. Wish you guys great times ahead. God bless".

On the first day of the New Year 2020, Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

The cricketer took to Instagram to share the photo with the actor and captioned the post: "Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged".

The couple got engaged in Dubai and were seen taking a ferry ride along with close friends.

On the work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from the Bollywood movie The Body starring Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor. She had also made it to the finals of the TV show Nach Baliye with her ex-boyfriend Aly Goni.

Stankovic first became a household name after appearing as a contestant on famous reality show Bigg Boss 8.

In 2019, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed that Pandya had had lower-back surgery in London.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Melbourne, Jun 20: If 15 teams can be allowed to enter Australia for the T20 World Cup then fans will not be stopped from watching live action from the stadiums, Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Saturday.

Hockley replaced under-fire Kevin Roberts, who recently got the boot from Cricket Australia, which is grappling with financial woes.

Different possibilities are being worked out for the T20 World to go ahead as scheduled later this year and one of them is to host the tournament before empty stands in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hockley said crowds will be allowed, though, hosting 15 teams with players, officials and support staff is "complex" as of now, hinting that probably the ICC flagship event could be pushed back.

"The reality is, and we've got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country," Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked if he would like to see the World Cup proceed without fans.

"If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise."

When specifically asked whether crowds would be permitted by the time borders have opened to the point that 15 teams will be allowed to travel to Australia, Hockley replied in an affirmative.

"That's the current thinking, yes."

Hockley said it came as a shock when he was asked by Cricket Australia to replace Roberts.

"I've had very mixed emotions. I was very shocked to be asked. I didn't see it coming at all, so I probably haven't had time yet to process it. I feel very sad for Kev (Roberts). On the other hand, I feel this is a massive privilege to be asked, it's a massive responsibility and a massive opportunity even if it's only for the next few months," he said.

Hockey did not commit when asked if he would like to assume the role full time, but he did say that he would quit as CEO of the T20 World Cup Organising Committee.

"My approach throughout my entire career has been to focus on doing the best job I can with what I've been tasked with, and the future will look after itself. And I'll continue the same approach.

"That's (T20 World Cup) been a real priority over the last 48 hours. We're reasonably well progressed and we will be appointing an interim because you just can't do both," he said.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Jun 2: Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has spoken strongly against the killing if George Floyd in USA, and has now urged the ICC & all the other boards in the world to come together and fight the evil.

In a series of tweets Sammy wrote how the blacks have been suffering for a long time.

“For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter,” Sammy wrote.

He also wrote, “@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”

“Right now if the cricket world not standing against the injustice against people of color after seeing that last video of that foot down the next of my brother you are also part of the problem.”

Earlier, West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has said racism exists in cricket too, saying he gets the 'end of the stick' even within teams.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own! I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," Gayle wrote in his Instagram story.

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