Ind vs SA: India knocked out of World Twenty20 despite win against South Africa

October 2, 2012

rohit

Colombo, October 2: India's quest to regain the World Twenty20 title came to a heartbreaking end after they were knocked out of the tournament despite a thrilling one-run victory over South Africa in the final Super Eight contest on Tuesday.

Put into bat, India scored 152 for six and needed to restrict South Africa within 121 to qualify for the semifinals on net run rate but Faf Du Plessis knocked the stuffing out of the Indian bowlers with a smashing half-century that put paid to their hopes of making it to the knock-out stage.

India's task was made all the more difficult after Pakistan comprehensively beat Australia by 32 runs in an earlier Super Eight match of the day as it strengthened their net run-rate. Australia and Pakistan qualify for the semifinals from Group II.

South Africa were all out for 151 in the penultimate ball to end their campaign after losing all three of their Super Eight match.

Ever since winning the inaugural edition in 2007, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys have failed to reach even the semifinals of the subsequent editions.

Du Plessis hit 65 off 38 balls with the help of six boundaries and two sixes but more importantly he dashed any hope of India making it to the last four.

The defining moment came when Robin Peterson played a slow bouncer from Lakshmipathy Balaji towards short fine leg as South Africa reached 122 and it was cheered lustily by a sizeable Pakistani supporters anxiously waiting for the moment.

For India, the magic figure was 121 and the start was a right one. Zaheer Khan bowled a perfect delivery first up to dismiss Hashim Amla. The delivery pitched on the off-middle line and then moved a shade to take the outside edge of Amla's bat as Virender Sehwag took a good catch diving to his left.

Irfan Pathan got Jacques Kallis to flick one which was taken by Rohit Sharma at mid-wicket. Faf du Plessis and skipper AB de Villiers then added 30 in quick time and it was Du Plessis who started taking on the Indian bowlers.

Dhoni brought Yuvraj at the end of the Powerplay overs and it immediately paid off as he got de Villiers to play a tentative forward defensive push which clipped the off-stump bail.

However, there was no stopping du Plessis who was in a mood to dispatch everything out of sight as he raced to his half century in 29 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes.

At the halfway stage, South Africa were 73 for three and it was literally impossible for India to restrict the Proteas to 121.

Earlier, Suresh Raina scored a useful 45 while skipper Dhoni played a little cameo to help India post a respectable 152 for six after being sent into bat.

It was Raina whose contribution was a significant one as he hit five boundaries during his 34-ball knock. Skipper Dhoni also should be complimented for his 13-ball 23 as it provided the necessary impetus and helped the team cross 150-run mark.

Dhoni hit Dale Steyn for 14 runs in the penultimate over, including two powerfully struck boundaries, which proved useful in the end.

India's trouble started when they lost their top three batsmen within the Powerplay overs and then it was Raina who scripted the recovery act.

Opener Gautam Gambhir started off with a lovely cover drive but Morne Morkel knocked down his middle-stump after scoring only eight.

In-form Virat Kohli got one from Jacques Kallis that reared up and he gloved it for rival captain AB de Villiers who dived to pouch onto a spectacular leg-side catch. Kohli made just two.

Virender Sehwag lofted left-arm spinner Robin Peterson for a huge six over long-on but lost his off-stump trying to repeat the stroke the next ball. The situation demanded a bit of discretion but as his wont, the 'Nawab of Najafgarh' went for the jugular only to deepen India's misery.

Yuvraj Singh started with a majestic six over cover fence off Johan Botha's delivery and for good measure slog-swept Peterson for his second six. Another pulled boundary off Botha's bowling raised visions of a big total.

However, Morkel bowled a beauty when Yuvraj was on a quickfire 21. It pitched in the block hole and Yuvraj was bowled through the gate trying to play a flick shot.

At 68 for four, Rohit Sharma and Raina came together for a 44-run fifth wicket partnership.

The duo concentrated mostly on singles although Raina hit bulk of his boundaries over the extra cover region. The 100 came up in the 14th over when Raina lofted Botha over extra cover for a boundary.

Rohit, who was playing the second fiddle nudging the singles finally tried a non-existent sweep shot off Peterson's bowling and was adjudged leg before. Rohit made 25 off 27 balls with two boundaries.

For South Africa, Peterson and Morne Morkel took two wickets apiece while Jacques Kallis chipped in with one wicket.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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Agencies
April 15,2020

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey has heaped praise on MS Dhoni, saying the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is the "greatest finisher" the game of cricket has ever seen.

"Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced," Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo's Videocast.

"Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes, he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn't have that kind of belief in myself," he added.

The former Australian batsman, who shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, said the 38-year-old Indian believes in the philosophy that he who panics last, wins the game.

"I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over," said Hussey while talking about his ability to finish the game without much hiccups.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"Supportive owners who let coach Stephen Fleming and captain Dhoni decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the coach and the captain, Dhoni's leadership and lastly the foresight of the owners, Fleming and Dhoni to pick the best players, particularly the good Indian players and then stick with them for as long as possible."

"This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust that otherwise takes time to grow," he added.

Hussey also said that once Dhoni bids adieu to the game, CSK would probably like to start all over again.

"That's a 60-million-dollar question, and I am equally intrigued. I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved in some way or the other," said Hussey.

"However, whenever the change of guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build a brand, new team, and use their existing philosophy as they enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more challenging in current times," he added.

Dhoni was supposed to lead CSK in the 13th IPL edition which now stands postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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